Essex Powerlines is busy installing over 300 electric vehicle chargers with the help of the federal government's Charge Up partnership.
The government provided $4.3 million to encourage small businesses, institutions, and multi-residential building owners to install electric vehicle infrastructure.
"We were expecting to be fully subscribed, we were not expecting to be fully subscribed as quickly as we were," said Steve Ray, chief operating officer of Essex Powerlines. "We do have a waiting list should any project not move forward.
There have been 68 level two and 10 level three charges installed throughout Windsor-Essex to date. That includes 24 chargers that were installed throughout the University of Windsor's campus.
The remaining chargers will be installed by December 2024.
"Really overall, in the community, it's about $8.6 million worth of investment in infrastructure. Half by private industry and institution and the other by Natural Resources Canada through the Government of Canada," said Ray.
Windsor-Tecumseh MP Irek Kusmierczyk said he will continue to push for more funding and partnerships with local electric companies to move the industry forward.
"We're building electric batteries here in Windsor so the success and prosperity of our community is now tied to the success of the transition to electric vehicles. We need more charging infrastructure. We're absolutely going to work with our partners at Essex Power, Enwin, and others to go after additional electric charging infrastructure funding," said Kusmierczyk.
