Changes in the Strata Property Act Needed to help EV Adoption.
Electric Vehicles are more popular than ever before; we have witnessed this popularity firsthand with a significant increase in sales of electric vehicles in British Columbia. Furthermore, the investment by the Provincial Government into outreach, education and incentives has been incredibly helpful in furthering the adoption of electric vehicles. More recently the province committed to a sales standard for electric vehicles that would require 100% of new car sales to be electric, plugin hybrid or hydrogen by 2040.
Although the growth rate is rapid, we know that a significant barrier for EV adoption is access to charging infrastructure at home or work, essentially a location where the vehicle has a long period of dwell time for the vehicle to get a full charge.
Single family homeowners have the ease of parking and plugging, where condo dwellers have to navigate a gauntlet of strata approval, assessments, applications and rejections based on biased opinions and unfounded perceptions. This current situation is simply disappointing and unacceptable.
We hear stories from customers that go to endless lengths to try and have EV charging installed, and event when they are prepared to pay for all costs involved, the Strata Council arbitrarily refuses. Furthermore, change to common or limit common property (such as installation of conduit, coring etc.) requires a ¾ vote at an Annual General Meeting or Special General Meeting of owners. This results in an incredibly time intensive, costly and frustrating process for all involved.
“The Strata Property Act, regulations and the strata corporation’s bylaws and rulesprovide the legal framework under which all strata corporations and strata owners must operate in British Columbia. This legal framework is also affected by judicial decisions from court cases and other legislation.”
There have been numerous appeals from Regional and Local municipal government to amend the Strata Property Act and implement legislation that allows EV owners the right to setup EV charging without being refused by the strata corporation. This change in legislation has been successfully adopted in other regions like Ontario and California. Until this part of the act is amended, condo dwellers will struggle to charge their EV’s using public infrastructure.
Recent changes to the regulations for charging to electricity dispensed, allow Strata Corporations to charge for energy used in EV charging. This means that your installation can have payback and the more EV owners that use the infrastructure mean that your strata could establish an additional revenue stream from EV charging.
Our appeal to Strata Corporations is to be proactive and seek help. Every building needs to think about how EV charging would be integrated into the existing parkades and electrical services over the next 5 years. As EV sales continue to rise, we need to prepare EV charging as soon as possible.
- Obtain a comprehensive electrical assessment,
- Design phased approach for EV installations that progresses over a series of years,
- Ensure your first installation phase allows for expansion in future years,
- Research and determine that incentive programs are available to alleviate some of the costs involved,
- Determine billing rates, monthly fees and return on investment.
If you are interested in learning more about installing EV charging infrastructure in in your Multi Unit Residential Building, call Cielo Electric for a fully comprehensive site assessment and advice on the approach for your project. 778-862-4109 or visit www.cieloelectric.ca
