Why West Kelowna council balked at a $100,000 gift to community

WEST KELOWNA – They don’t mind having it, just not where B.C. Hydro wants to put it. That’s the reaction of West Kelowna council to the utility’s proposal to install a fast charging station for electric cars at the Mt. Boucherie complex.

“They liked the idea just not where they want to put it,” communications manager Kirsten Jones says. “They felt it was perhaps too out of the way and not a great place to hang out while waiting for your car to charge.”

B.C. Hydro had originally proposed placing a fast charging station, which can juice up an electric car about 10 times faster than the most common EV chargers, somewhere in West Kelowna and had been looking for an agreement with the district.

The deal would have seen B.C. Hydro pay the $85,000 installation and commissioning cost of the charging station, with the district responsible for minor maintenance and other costs amounting to $1,000 a year.

The charging station, when installed, would become part of the so called Southern Interior network loop B.C. Hydro is developing within its coverage area, that includes Penticton, Vernon and Kamloops. Kelowna is outside B.C.Hydro’s service area and is not eligible under the program.

Jones says district staff will look at other possible locations and report back to council at a future meeting.

To contact the reporter for this story, email John McDonald at jmcdonald@infotelnews.ca or call 250-808-0143. To contact the editor, email mjones@infotelnews.ca or call 250-718-2724.