Funding approved for car-charging ports

By Mehreen Shahid, Orillia Packet & Times

A Port Severn gas station could soon become an electric-car charging point.

Jagdish Kang, owner and operator of Jag’s Petro-Canada Fuel and Convenience, applied for a grant through Ontario’s Green Investment Fund and has been approved for $130,000 to install two charging ports. Before receiving the money, Kang must respond to the province and confirm his plans.

He has seen some travellers with electric cars come through the area, so he figured the grant application was worth a shot.

Kang wasn’t the only recipient of funding in the area. The province is working with 27 public- and private-sector partners, including the County of Simcoe. The county has been approved for $267,350 from the same program. It is considering the charging ports at three locations.

A representative from the county was unavailable to comment Friday, but a committee-of-the-whole report notes the locations being considered are the Simcoe County Museum, the Washago public parking lot and the Clearview Joint Emergency Centre.

The report stated the county needs to confirm participation in the program by May 31. The target completion date for the project is by the end of next year.

In a press release, the Ministry of Transportation said a shift to low- and zero-emission vehicles is crucial in achieving Ontario’s greenhouse-gas reduction target of 80% below 1990 levels in the next three decades.

“This is great news for drivers in Ontario,” Steven Del Duca said in the release. “By investing in charging infrastructure that is fast, reliable and affordable, we will encourage more Ontarians to purchase electric vehicles, reducing greenhouse-gas pollution and keeping our air clean.”

The release further stated as part of its $325-million investment in the Green Investment Fund, the province has committed $20 million to installing nearly 500 electric-car charging stations by the end of 2017.

“Successfully fighting climate change requires fundamental shifts in how we move, live and work,” Glen Murray, minister of the environment and climate change, said in the release. “These partnerships demonstrate a collective need for transformation and the determination to make it happen. This investment is just one of the many ways we are helping people and businesses make cleaner choices today for a better tomorrow.”