A friendly rural Newfoundlander… and a big EV policy gap

Heartwarming Atlantic Canada EV stories #1

I will have much to say about frustrating gaps in institutional support for EVs, but friendly, helpful individuals sometimes make all the difference

Here in Newfoundland there are 15 DC Fast Charging stations currently in service — one for every 7257km². It’s not really as bad as it sounds, as they are nearly all placed along the main highway running the length of the island, which passes fairly close to most main population areas. But there are a few resulting gaps in coverage — most of which are currently being filled in.

One of those gaps is the route to our international border with France — the road to Fortune (which hosts the ferry to St Pierre). I thought it might be fun to visit France with my EV but the nearest DC Fast Charging station to Fortune is in Goobies, (no I am not making these names up), 203km away. Marystown does have a planned DCFC charger but while it’s underway outside the Marystown Hotel and Convention Centre nobody there knew when it might open. Could it be true that I would have to add a nearly 7 hour stop at their YMCA chargers to my return journey if I wanted to make the trip?

I called the Town of Fortune and asked if the ferry parking lot had plans for a charging station or even 120V plugs that could connect. They gave me the number of the woman I will just call Heroic Helen who told me she runs the ferry parking, the building the ferry operates out of and a nearby restaurant. She assured me that if I told her when I was planning to come she would get in touch with her daughter and make sure I could park at her place run an extension cord out to my car. And that any other EV owner could do likewise if they needed. When I expressed my shock and gratitude, she simply remarked, “if I can’t fix it, it is unfixable”.

How useful could an ordinary extension cord be, though? It would completely solve my problem! I could arrive in Fortune with a 20% charge, leave my car there over a weekend and by the time I picked it up it would be fully charged again (for insurance reasons, driving around St Pierre is not an attractive option for the casual visitor). And what of the cost to Helen or her daughter? Around $7.30.

The “trickle charging” policy gap

As a side note, this points in my mind to a huge policy gap in EV infrastructure policy here and elsewhere in North America. Ubiquitous L2 chargers alongside the fast charging network is certainly useful, but needs property owners to educate themselves on how chargers work, apply for relevant subsidies, pay to install new equipment and so on. Simply running (suitably weatherproofed and protected) extension cords out to nearby parking spots is something anyone can understand and many already have the necessary “infrastructure” without spending a cent. The marginal cost of the electricity provided is, I’d argue, too low to be worth charging for — $.20 — $.25 per hour an EV is connected and charging. It’s not a substitute for the other forms of charging but in some cases (as here) would be absolutely invaluable.

As I have noted before in my discussion of how to determine the charger you need for your car and in my EV guide for NLers, almost all of my own EV charging I do using an extension cord to a conventional electrical socket in my home.

Unfortunately, even when services allow businesses and homes to register they offer such a service it’s not easy to use — look for “Wall Plug”, “NEMA 5–15" or “NEMA 5–15R” plug to find “trickle chargers” in their databases and don’t be put off by the fact the plugs used to illustrate that option don’t look 100% like a regular three prong outlet.

Edited to add: I just learned about Plugzio — it sells “smart” level one chargers for public use. It still seems counter-intuitive to spend $1000+ on a public charger so that you can bill for and monitor usage when $750 would pay for around 125 days of 24/7 EV charging (roughly). There are many cases where it would make more sense to deploy L1 chargers than L2 ones — most importantly tourist accommodations distant from a fast charger but where there isn’t the budget to install a L2. Guests staying overnight (12 hours, say) could add anything up to 85km to their range, which might make all the difference for them — allowing them to get back to the nearest fast charger and fully charge. But unless you expect your public parking space to be used fairly continuously winter and summer I would still suggest it makes more sense just to give your guests the electricity for free as a bit of goodwill.