Town council approves agreement for electric vehicle charging station

Nanton Town council has approved a 10-year agreement with ATCO Power for an electric vehicle charging station in the Town-owned parking lot along 19 Street, east of the Museum of Miniatures.

The charging station, which will have two parking stalls, will be part of the Peaks to Prairies EV Charging Network.

ATCO Power will own the charging station and pay for all costs to install and operate it. The company will also maintain the station and be liable for all technical and service related issues.

The only charge to the Town is a nominal $1 license fee, wrote Georgina Sharpe, planning and development officer, in a report.

Peaks to Prairies intends to link southern Alberta to existing and future electric vehicle networks to the benefit of all communities in the region, which will benefit from the opportunities around tourism, economic development, branding and clean energy development, reads a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about Peaks to Prairies.

“As demand for electric vehicles increases, and sales continue to increases, southern Alberta will be prepared to benefit from new opportunities around EV mobility,” the FAQ reads.

Mayor Jennifer Handley called the charging station a “great opportunity for our town for many reasons.” Among them, people with electric vehicles will shop locally while their vehicles are charging in Nanton’s downtown, she said.

“The incredible thing is that it’s 100 per cent no cost to our town,” said Handley.

The charging station is user pay, she pointed out.

“It’s not like they’re even getting our electricity for free,” said the mayor.

Source: nantonnews