The Town of Goderich renewed its deal for electric vehicle charging stations, though it is still not breaking even.
Council accepted staff's suggestion to continue its deal with ChargePoint Cloud Plan, opting for a one-year renewal over a five-year option, which will cost the town $2,070 U.S.
A report to council showed two of the town's three stations lost over $300 combined in 2023. Data isn't available for the Bannister Park EV station, because it doesn't have its own separate meter.
The losses came despite council moving to raise fees to $6/hour at the stations this time last year.
During discussions, Deputy Mayor Leah Noel questioned whether another fee change was in order.
"I understand that we have a 10 year commitment to the chargers," she said. "I guess my question about this item today is whether we would also, in conjunction with this renewal of a contract, look at changing the fee on an hourly basis, to see if we can try to recoup more of our costs instead of continuing to lose money at the rate we are?"
Staff were asked to do another examination of the rates, but the contract renewal still passed.
The report showed that Rotary Cove station was by far the most popular, with 59 sessions last year. Lighthouse Street had 27 sessions, while Bannister Park had 22.
