Huron County councillors have agreed on a fee for the electric vehicle chargers that have been installed in the county, the town of Goderich and the municipality of Huron East.
Staff had presented council with three options: no charge at all, $2.10/hour, and $5/hour.
Huron East Mayor Bernie MacLellan said he had a problem with the $2.10/hour rate because it was actually less than the actual cost of a charge. After some discussion, most of the councillors agreed and approved a fee of $5/hour.
“I think council really came to a good conclusion in that we want to promote the electric vehicle and their use for the benefit of the environment, for sure, but we don't want to subsidize the cost of those charges on the rest of the taxpayers,” MacLellan said. "And by picking the rate that we did pick, there will be a little bit of surplus. And, as staff pointed out, we can take those funds and then re-invest in more and more charging stations so that as more and more people get electric vehicles we will have more chargers available throughout the county.”
The 12 chargers in Huron County will be spread out with three going in Clinton, three in Brussels, and six in Goderich. The Town of Goderich will have another six and in Huron East, two will go to Seaforth and two will go to Brussels.
MacLellan also agreed with staff that some of that surplus could help cover the cost of maintenance for the chargers.