There were more than 60,000 light-duty electric vehicles (EV) on BC’s roads in 2021. As one of North America’s leaders in EV adoption, the number of EV vehicles in BC are expected to surpass 200,000 by the year 2026 and 300,000 by 2028. Many businesses and residences will require upgrades to meet the new demand for EV charging as drivers will need to recharge at home, work, school, or leisure facilities.

The benefits of improved air qualitygreenhouse gas and noise reduction, and sustainable economic development have already prompted many municipalities to require EV charging infrastructure in new residential and commercial developments.

How can facility managers, building owners and property managers of residences, public facilities, commercial and industrial buildings prepare?

Prism has worked with numerous organizations in the province to complete feasibility studies, evaluate the electrical infrastructure requirements and provide updated recommendations for building and municipal bylaw updates to plan for this evolution.

We asked our electrical engineers for their top tips on EV charging infrastructure. Here is what they shared:

  1. Take advantage of rebates and incentives
    • CleanBC is offering rebates for EV Ready plans, EV ready infrastructure, and EV chargers – learn more here.
    • NRCan offers a Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Infrastructure Program for multi-unit residential buildings (MURBs) – read more here.
    • CleanBC Go Electric Fleets Program offers funding to reduce barriers for the adoption of ZEVs – review program requirements here.
  2. Be mindful of challenges most MURB stratas face. This includes infrastructure cost approval, load sharing, limited space within electrical rooms and costly network fees.
  3. Consider load management or load sharing for constrained electrical systems. This can be done at the circuit, panel, or system level.
  4. Review and familiarize yourself with manufacture, municipal, and utility provider guidelines and requirements.
  5. Plan for the long-term. You will save money if you do all your coring and trenching at the same time and use conduits large enough to be used for future expansion rather than having to do it each time a new charging station needs to be installed.
  6. Don’t forget about fleet vehicles. With more medium and heavy-duty EV options becoming available, it is a good time to start evaluating ZEVs to reduce your organization’s GHG emissions.

Our Electrical team will be happy to work with you to identify your needs and provide customized recommendations. Reach out to us to learn more.