The village of Keremeos is the latest Interior community to offer an electric vehicle charging station.

The station is just one of many in the region to offer the refueling service in an effort to encourage the use of electric vehicles. The charging station was funded by the B.C. Government’s Clean Energy Vehicle Program, an initiative to support the transition to cleaner transportation options within B.C. and the Government of Canada’s ecoENERGY Innovation Initiative. The station was installed by BC Hydro with a contribution from FortisBC and the Village of Keremeos will operate and maintain the station.

“Congratulations to Keremeos on the opening of your electric vehicle charging station,” said Boundary Similkameen MLA Linda Larson. “Expanding B.C.’s charging infrastructure is a key element of the Province’s efforts to encourage more people to choose an electric vehicle and reduce tailpipe emissions. Since 2011, investments under our Clean Energy Vehicle Program have supported the deployment of more than 1,000 charging stations, and B.C. now has the largest public charging infrastructure network in Canada.”

Photo Credit: RDOSLocal Electric Vehicle Owner Mark Vranckaert is the first to use the new Electric Vehicle Charging Station located at the Keremeos Municipal Office Left to right, Mark Vranckaert and Mayor Manfred Bauer.

The station located at Keremeos is equipped with both the CHAdeMO and SAE combo quick charging standards and will be able to serve most electric vehicles including the Nissan Leaf, Chevy Spark EV and BMW i3. The Tesla Model S may also be charged at this station but will require a special adaptor. The station will be able to charge electric vehicles up to 80% in about thirty minutes time, which is significantly less compared to other lower powered electric vehicle charging stations in the Similkameen Valley and surrounding area.

Users of the station will pay for a charging session through a pre-registered account with a company called Greenlots, which offers payment through a Smartphone app or contract-less payment card. To find a charging station visit www.pluginbc.ca for more information.