The frustration of the couple I meet – trying to charge their Volvo XC40 Recharge at a public quick charging station on their way to cottage country – was obvious.
“Our salesperson never told us we’d need apps or special cards,” the owner said when I asked if they had an app or RFID card for the Greenlots network, one of roughly 26 charging networks throughout North America.
At this 50-kilowatt charging station, and at many others, signing up to the network is necessary to charge your vehicle. The cost at this Simcoe County-maintained station is pro-rated at $15 per hour for quick charging. By law in Ontario, only registered utilities can sell electricity per kilowatt hour.
Most quick charge networks have set rates that depend on a combination of time and speed of charging. These electric counterparts to gas stations have Level 3 charging speeds that range from 25 kilowatts all the way up to 350 kW, like those at the fastest Electrify Canada and Petro-Canada stations.
Petro-Canada charges a flat rate of 33 cents per minute in Ontario for its quick chargers, or $19.80 per hour, while Electrify Canada has pricing tiers for charging speeds of 90 kilowatts or above. This helps reduce the cost when charging an older EV or in colder weather, when speeds tend to slow down.
Most vehicles are designed to take a quick charge from a low battery level to 80 per cent full in 18 to 45 minutes. This usually costs between $15 and $20 and will add anywhere from 140 to 400 kilometres to your battery electric vehicle’s range.
Many of these charging networks are introducing “roaming agreements” so one card or app can be used on multiple networks. But, as those Volvo-owners I met discovered, part of owning an EV now often means taking time beforehand to not only map out where charging stations are, but also whether an app or RFID card is needed to use it.
TAG: Michael Bettencourt bought his first EV in late 2011 and has followed the Canadian EV scene ever since. Follow him on Twitter @MCBet10court
Keyword: The true costs of charging on the go