Toronto city council approves 32 additional electric vehicle charging stations this year

Thestar.com
June 17, 2022

Usage of electric vehicle charging stations has increased month-over-month in the last two years in Toronto, city council heard Wednesday, June 15, when council approved the installation of 32 new charging stations.

A 20-month pilot found a total energy consumption of 127,923 kilowatt hours in the city from October 2020 to April 2022. Based on the city's math, this represents nearly 130 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions that would otherwise have been emitted from internal combustion engine equivalents.

The City of Toronto and Toronto Hydro have completed the Residential and Downtown On-Street Electric Vehicle Charging Station pilot, and are on track to install 32 additional on-street electric vehicle (EV) charging stations for 17 residential on-street permit parking locations by the end of the year.

The pilot saw 17 on-street EV charging stations installed in nine locations across the city.

In 2023, the Toronto Parking Authority will take full responsibility for the operation and maintenance of all existing and future on-street chargers, and will see the rollout of at least 50 additional charging stations by the end of that year.

“We are continuing to increase the number of electric vehicle chargers in our city this year and that work is on track to continue in 2023," Mayor John Tory said in a news release.

"The success of this green infrastructure pilot is a big step towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2040 -- one of North America’s most ambitious goals. It is also good news for people who want to use electric vehicles in Toronto. We’re not only making it easier to access EV chargers, but also expanding their availability.”

The expansion of public on-street EV charging infrastructure in Toronto supports the goals and targets of the city’s TransformTO Net Zero climate action strategy and will encourage and make EV adoption more affordable, by increasing access for households with limited ability to install on-site charging or who have less access to on-site dedicated parking opportunities, the city stated in a news release.

The city is also increasing EV adoption by requiring new buildings to have the infrastructure to support EV charging, providing funding to support and encourage EV charging infrastructure to be installed in existing buildings, and providing public EV charging stations in Green P parking lots (up to 500 by the end of 2024) and at city-owned properties and facilities.