Thunder Bay
Road trips lose power as charger outages leave northern Ontario EV drivers stranded
Non-Tesla EV drivers couldn't go from Thunder Bay to Sault
Ste. Marie much of June
Some electric vehicle drivers in northern Ontario say the charging network between Thunder Bay and Sault Ste. Marie is failing those who don't drive Teslas.
CCS and CHAdeMO fast chargers in Marathon, White River and Wawa were down for most of June; the Ivy location in White River has been out of service since mid-April.
Tesla chargers in the region were still working, according to reports on the forum PlugShare, where drivers update each other on charger status, but they are not currently compatible with non-Tesla vehicles.
"June was a rough month for this area," said Real Deschatelets, a volunteer with the Electric Vehicle Association of Northern Ontario (EVANO).
"There was a huge zone between Sault Ste. Marie and Terrace Bay that had no fast charging available. Even Level 2, there was almost nothing. … The biggest disappointment in owning an EV is public charging — public fast charging."
The federal government has been promoting EV adoption as an important pillar in the fight against climate change, offering incentives worth $5,000 off the purchase price of a vehicle.
Fewer Canadians seriously considering EV purchases
Ottawa wants EVs to account for 20 per cent of all new vehicles sold by 2026, and plans to phase out sales of vehicles with internal combustion engines by 2035.
But a new survey published last week by J.D. Power found only around a third of Canadians are considering EVs as their next vehicle purchase, and that number is trending downward. Those who reject EVs cite limited range and lack of charging stations as key reasons.
Ian McEwan's experience illustrates their fears.
McEwan set off on a road trip to Halifax last month in his new Ford F-150 extended range vehicle.
He topped up his charge in Nipigon and Terrace Bay, but the Petro-Canada app listed the company's chargers in Marathon in Wawa as out of service.
McEwan decided to get his car juiced up instead at the Ivy charger in White River. But when he got there, he discovered the charger was down too.
"Do I go forward, where I have enough power to get to, but not past [Wawa]? Or do I go backwards and hope I have enough [charge] to make it back to Terrace Bay?" he asked.
Complicating the risk assessment was the fact mobile phone service is spotty between cities in parts of the region, meaning a person with a dead battery could easily find themselves at the side of the road with no way to call for help.
In the end, McEwan pressed forward to Wawa, but was unable to find a working charger.
So he booked a room in a hotel and arranged a tow truck to get his vehicle to Sault Ste. Marie the next day.
"I was talking to the tow truck driver and he said, 'Oh this happens a lot because it has been down for at least two months,'" he said.
Suncor Energy, which owns Petro-Canada, did not respond to CBC's inquiry about its charging station outages.
Supply chain delays blamed for long outage
However, drivers posting on PlugShare reported the Wawa charger was back online on June 28.
The Marathon charger was working again on June 30.
A spokesperson for Ivy told CBC News the White River charging station was down due to a damaged transformer, and "there are significant delays in obtaining transformers, which has resulted in an extended timeline for bringing this station back online."
One towing company and hotel operator in White River said it's a "horrendous inconvenience" when the chargers aren't operating.
'Towed about a half a dozen out of White River'
"I think we've towed about a half a dozen out of White River," Angelo Bazzoni said when asked how many drivers he'd had to rescue in June due to dead batteries.
"Some of them we've accommodated in our motel property where … people spent the evening, and were able to slow charge their vehicles and get into Thunder Bay."
Deschatelets has emailed several MPs and met with Thunder Bay-Superior North MP Patty Hajdu about the issue.
Hajdu told CBC she understands his frustration.
She said the government has spent more than $1 billion on charging infrastructure since 2015, but it does not build chargers itself, relying instead on proponents to do so.
There are approximately 45,000 chargers across Canada right now, she added.
The goal is to have more than 84,000 by 2027.
In a statement to CBC News, Natural Resources Canada also reiterated the government's work to fund charging infrastructure, adding it does track charging ports on an interactive map.
"The federal government recognizes the importance of having a fully functional and reliable charging system," the statement reads. "Federal programs fund a fraction of project costs to ensure project proponents are committed to the long-term viability of their charging infrastructure, which helps support greater reliability. Reliability is also factored into application processes and funding requirements."
Deschatelets said he has also spoken with Petro-Canada and Ivy, which operate the chargers in the northern region.
He said he hopes Tesla's plans to open its chargers to all EVs will improve the situation for drivers.
"People would be losing their minds if gas stations all went down in this whole area — that's the reality of EVs right now."
Saskatoon
Electric vehicle users say travel plans have to be adapted due to unreliable charging infrastructure in Sask.
'It's not accelerating like I would have hoped,' says one of
Saskatchewan's first EV registrants
Electric vehicle drivers say they are having to grapple with a slowly growing infrastructure in Saskatchewan.
As of July 3, there were 1,446 electric vehicles, or EVs, registered in Saskatchewan, according to Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI).
Glenn and Shannon Wright of Vanscoy, Sask., were among the first 40 registrants of EVs in Saskatchewan and have been driving their car for daily commute for the past five years, saving what they estimate is about $21,000 worth of gasoline.
"There was very little charging infrastructure then. It was very difficult. It's not accelerating like I would have hoped, yet I see new gas stations building all around," Glenn said. "We need more clean infrastructure as we try to decarbonize."
Glenn said there is a lot of misinformation around EVs in Saskatchewan which is a contributing factor to their slow adoption. Wright has run in Saskatchewan elections for the NDP, the Green Party and as an independent candidate. He is also a board member of SaskEV, a group of EV drivers and enthusiasts in Saskatoon, and said their membership is inching closer to the 100 mark.
Nipawin is one of some central and northern communities that were starting to address the need for charging stations to make the areas friendly to tourists. The town had planned to install three charging stations. Many members of the public opposed the move and in an unanimous decision recently, the council rescinded that motion.
"Not installing charging in Nipawin is hurting the community from tourism dollars and it's making it less accessible for people," he said, noting he can understand some concerns around mining for car material among others.
"It's sort of like 1950 where a community is saying we don't want power to run through the community, not realizing the benefits that come with it… it's unfortunate that Nipawin made this decision. They will regret it."
Joel Cardinal, chief administrative officer for Nipawin, said the town was eligible for a federal grant through Éco-West Canada.
"But the general consensus among the public was very much against the installation. They think this is something private businesses should pursue," Cardinal said.
"It's a fair point that this decision would close off the town essentially from any EV traveller willing to come to town. We still might have to put this infrastructure down the line. There is a void and the pressure to provide such service will only grow."
Charging deserts in Saskatchewan
Glenn said presently Highway 1 and Highway 16, or the Yellowhead Highway, are two highways in Saskatchewan that are well serviced with charging stations.
"But if you are beyond those two, it's much more difficult to find reliable charging infrastructure."
Glenn said on the route to Meadow Lake, La Loche, La Ronge and any place north of the latter, there are many gaps with almost no superchargers and only a few level two charging stations available. The level two charging stations can provide roughly 40 kilometres of distance for every hour of charging.
"Many EV drivers have to make a detour to Swift Current from Saskatoon in order to access high speed charging, as there is no infrastructure on the direct path from Saskatoon to Calgary," he said.
The couple said EVs should be looked at as a public service as there are no profits to be made there. However, the environmental benefits are abound. They suggest removing provincial sales tax on EVs to boost their adoption in the province.
"There are charging deserts in the province where you have to go out of the way to find a charging station," Shannon Wright said. "There are gaps in the infrastructure."
Scott McGregor, spokesperson for SaskPower, agrees. He said SaskPower's Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Program, which is supported by Natural Resources Canada's Zero Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Program, will have 20 communities that will be awarded up to $200,000 to install fast chargers.
"Six contracts have been awarded in Davidson, Outlook, Prince Albert, North Battleford and Yorkton. First two are in service and the other four by the end of the year. Three additional would be next year," he said noting all are level three chargers.
SaskPower does not track the number and levels and locations of chargers in Saskatchewan, McGregor noted.
Shannon said many of the initial chargers were put up at gas stations which would mean waiting at that location for an hour while their Chevrolet Bolt charges.
"We are stuck in a cultural mindset that you are driving a car, so you need to stop at a filling station made for cars. People building these stations don't have EVs or are not thinking about it."
She said a charging station by restaurants, museums, libraries or civic centres would be more apt. Additionally, EV owners should be billed for the amount of energy they consume to charge their vehicles and not the time they spend charging, Shannon said.
The couple have had black smoke blown at their car from diesel trucks or "shown the finger" for driving an EV with a rear side reading "an electric car would save you $300 a month".
Tesla drivers say more superchargers needed
Jim Clifford, an associate professor at University of Saskatchewan, recently took a long trip driving his Tesla Model Y range from Saskatoon to Vancouver to San Francisco and back.
"Saskatoon is probably in one of the worst populated zones in North America. Roads to Kindersely, Rosetown, all the way to Calgary, have no superchargers or level 3 charger of any kind," he said.
"It takes an hour and a half to drive down to Swift Current to charge and then again take onto the long journey."
Clifford said the technology is ready for mass adoption for EVs but in Saskatchewan, it does not exist past Lac La Ronge.
"Saskatchewan is probably one of the worst provinces in Canada for EVs," he said, noting how B.C. is leading the way to boost EV infrastructure.
"BC Hydro, the provincial electricity company, has started building fast chargers everywhere, so one can now get up to Jasper using the BC Hydro network."
A model, Clifford said, Saskatchewan can replicate to boost tourism and connect EV travellers from other provinces to all the fishing and hunting areas in the province. He said Tesla is installing its chargers in parts of the U.S. and Canada and it could be an opportunity for SaskPower to swoop in.
"SaskPower is aware of other jurisdictions taking initiative and installing their own charging stations but there are no present plans to follow that suit. But we are always reevaluating," McGregor said.
Clifford said other communities should also think about including EV infrastructure as it is a great way to bring people into community, stores and cafes as their EVs charge.
"The biggest pike I ever caught was at the dam in Nipawin in October 2020. I am probably not going to go there unless there is EV infrastructure. I might rather go fishing near [Prince Albert] where there is that infrastructure."
Regina resident Naval Madiratta owns two Teslas and said he too would not take a trip to Nipawin.
"I won't set out to any area that doesn't have superchargers. I would spend my tourism dollars in more progressive communities," the 38-year-old said. "Saskatchewan is probably the worst I have seen in my travel for EV infrastructure."
As vehicle manufactures, like General Motors and Volvo, are planning on switching to Tesla's extensive charging network beginning early next year, Madiratta said there would be more demand, especially for Teslas which just take $12 for the full tank.
"Going out to some less travelled areas in Saskatchewan can be a hiccup. Last year, my friends and I went to Denver, Colorado from Regina. On the fastest route to take, there is no supercharge between Regina and Glendive, Montana. It's almost 350 to 400 kilometeres," he said.
A longer route with an added hour of detour to Weyburn would have to be taken but the group took their "chance and arrived with two per cent battery at Glendive".
At the Elk Ridge resort near Prince Albert National Park, Madiratta said there were only level two charging spots available in the vicinity which would have meant up to nine hours of charging to get the vehicle going.
"Unless you are by the water for nine hours, it's not the best solution. I had my portable charger, so we pulled out the stove and plugged my portable charger into the stove outlet and we charged my and my friend's car. It was inconvenient," he said.
"We need more level three charging stations in Saskatchewan. Those chargers are not for the people living in that community, but people travelling to that community. That will give them an opportunity to capture some tourism dollars."
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