Electric Vehicle Charging Stations in Sooke

In summer 2022, in coordination with the Capital Regional District, the District of Sooke participated in a grant application to expand the Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Network in Greater Victoria – including Sooke. In this application, we requested the addition of eight units in the community:

• Two at the municipal hall parking lot, located at 2205 Otter Point Road
• Four at SEAPARC, located at 2168 Phillips Road
• Two at 6726 Eustace Road

We understand that the status of our grant application should be known by fall 2023.

There are numerous benefits to electric vehicles including the potential for cost savings. Benefits include:

• No fuel, no emissions. The electric engine within an EV operates on a closed circuit, so an electric car does not emit any of the gases often associated with global warming. No petrol or diesel is needed in a fully electric vehicle, which is great for your carbon footprint.
• Running costs. Because you’re not paying for gas or diesel to keep your car running, you can save a lot of money on fuel.  At the time of writing, it costs around $80 (Gas Buddy) to fill the average unleaded fuel tank for drivers of medium-sized cars in BC. By comparison, depending upon the electric vehicle you own it costs approximately $30/month (BC Hydro) with the additional bonus of the electricity going into your EV being 90% renewable.
• Low maintenance. We all know cars need a bit of TLC from time to time. Gas and diesel engines can require expensive engine maintenance over their lifetimes – electric vehicles don’t. In a traditional combustion engine there are hundreds of moving parts which can potentially go wrong, whereas an electric motor has fewer than 20. This means that your EV is likely to have lower long-term maintenance costs than other vehicles.

Use this tool from BC Hydro to compare electric to gas-powered vehicles based on your driving habits and needs.

Tell me more about EV battery life, costs of replacement, and environmental impacts.

Most EV batteries are covered by a five-to-eight-year manufacturer’s warranty; however, batteries can last longer (between 10 to 20 years). Costs of replacement batteries range, depending on the model, but can be between $5,000 and $9,000. There are environmental impacts associated with batteries, but most experts consider these to be much less significant than the impacts of driving a gasoline or diesel car. There are also opportunities for reusing or recycling batteries that are no longer fit for use in an EV.

Electric Vehicle technology has come a long way over the last few years and the range has improved. Depending on the vehicle, the ranges currently run between 250 and 415km.

Compare range, price, seating and rebate eligibility here. Note: please verify information with auto dealers.

The Province of BC has several rebates available for vehicles and charging stations, see here.