Posted on 03/06/2018 3:17:23 AM PST by jerod
Utility plans to add more charging stations in next year
NB Power's high-profile network of electric car charging stations has not been doing much business, records show, with several locations operating less than one hour per week in December and generating little income for the utility.
NB Power has been questioned closely about its investment in electric vehicle charging stations at its ongoing rate hearing in front of the Energy and Utilities board, which is in recess until March 19.
The utility, in conjunction with the federal and provincial governments, plans to spend nearly $3 million this year to add more charging capability in the province in order to encourage greater electric vehicle sales in the province. More electric cars, it believes, will eventually justify the investment in charging stations.
"There needs to be a jump start, or that initial step in leadership to put EV (electric vehicle) charging in place in specific areas," NB Power senior vice president of business development Keith Cronkhite told the EUB last month.
"We do not have a plan to put charging stations in every community and street throughout the province (but) there does need to be that initial leadership shown."
Still there are so few electric cars in New Brunswick, the charging stations are doing little business and are budgeted to lose money until 2028.
Last October, the utility unveiled a new "level-2" charging station at the Atlantic Host hotel in Bathurst. N.B., at a ceremony considered significant enough to attract two provincial cabinet ministers.
But records show in December only three vehicles were charged there during the month for a total of 41 minutes. That's about $1 worth of electricity.
NB Power's charging station in Perth-Andover served two cars for the month and stations in Richibucto, N.B., and Tracadie, N.B., had one customer each.
There are an estimated 88 electric vehicle chargers available for public use in New Brunswick, almost one for every car.
NB Power owns 26 (electric cars) and the rest belong to various private organizations....
...As of last September there were only 97 electric cars on the road in New Brunswick and last summer new sales were adding only about one car per week to that total, according to data compiled by FleetCarma.
The stupidity of this should be obvious:
1) New Brusnwick is a large, sparsely populated province that isn’t even between other larger populations. It’s population is similar to Vermont, spread across an area larger than Pennsylvania
2) Electric cars do not perform well in cold environments.
3) The charging stations are not at all scaled to their usage. (Most people who own a Tesla will own a private charging station, but these charging stations are designed for frequent, super-fast use.)
This idiocy, however, speaks little to the overall viability of electric cars.
The installation of a single electric charging station drew two cabinet members. The story would have been much more interesting if the journalist writing the story had investigated if these two ministers own and use electric vehicles exclusively for their private use.
I suspect even the few progressives who actually own an electric vehicle, depend on traditional internal combustion engines for most of their transportation needs.
Perhaps most people understand that electricity is not magic that originates in the electric socket, but is energy that must be generated. And that the generation of electricity also causes pollution.
On top of that, electric cars have major range limitations. If you take a road trip, you stop for gas every 2 or 3 hundred miles, which usually adds less than ten minutes to the trip. But an electric car will add hours to that trip for each recharge. Given that the longest range between recharges is 335 miles with the Tesla, and many of the electric cars have ranges less than 200 miles, that road trip from coast to coast could take weeks instead of days.
There is a lot to be said for having your own power generation in the car, with a gas engine.
I think the hybrids are a far better option than electric.
Given the limited range and usefulness of electric cars, I have to wonder if those promoting them are more motivated by the desire to limit people’s freedom of movement than by any professed environmental concerns.
Some of these towns are tiny villages of a couple hundred people, on spurs into nowhere. There are three main population centers in New Brunswick: Moncton-Dieppe-Riverview, Saint John-Quispamsis-Rothesay and Frederickton. Edmonston, the 4th population center be might also make sense as a loss leader, just because it’s near where you enter NB from coming from Quebec province. Even as such, the main purpose for these stations wouldn’t be for NB residents, but to ease the worries of Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa residents that they won’t miss out on some vacation to PEI or Nova Scotia (that they’ll probably never go on, anyway) if they get an electric.
New Brunswick...not so much.
I almost never see anyone in that "dealership" and not *once* have I seen a car at one of those charging points (which I drive past every day).
I went to the "HydroQuebec" website (they're a major provider of power in Quebec) and found that residential customers pay something like 5 cents per kWh for the first thousand (or so) kWh per month.I pay 22 cents for *every* kWh where I live.
If this applies to New Brunswick as well that would be an incentive for electric cars particularly given how expensive gas is up there (high taxes).
Remember, this was the ‘home’ of the Bricklin. NB benefits from government largesse, always has, always will. Like Quebec, they are a leech on our economy but still get plenty of money from a Liberal Ottawa. Of course the Lieberal truism is ‘give em money to get their votes’. In NB ( and the rest of the Maritimes), it works! Lieberals are always elected in the Maritimes.
Apparently not or leftists wouldn't claim (falsely) that electric vehicles reduce pollution.
And that the generation of electricity also causes pollution.
Again the evidence says otherwise, most people DON'T understand this. Most of the 62 million Hillary voters in the last election probably can't grasp the concept, and unfortunately the first and second laws of thermodynamics are not opinions open to discussion and can't be suspended just because some morons don't believe in them.
Someday when the President wants to distract the Left with a Squirrel Alert, he should announce on twitter that he’s canceling funding for this nonsense. Once there’s an actual need, these charging stations will be popping up all over the place, privately owned by gas stations.
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A government power company throwing millions of dollars down the toilet... 97 electric cars in total and they own 26 of them.... This myth of electric cars being an alternative to the internal combustion engine needs to stop being stuffed down the throats of consumers at the cost of taxpayers being thrown away.
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There’s the rub, no? Take the taxpayers out of the loop (as should be done here in the U.S. for 99% of the illegal spending Fedzilla does. Sure it’s not as easy in NB) and the ‘problem’ resolves itself via Free Market.
We got a station/two @ the local Whole Foods. I’ve always wanted to ask how often/long they are in-use...prob. same. Bet they get a tax-break/etc. for the virtue signaling.
>> Perhaps most people understand that electricity is not magic that originates in the electric socket, but is energy that must be generated. And that the generation of electricity also causes pollution. <<
See, here’s where you’re wrong. Combustion-driven require a portable power plant, burning a portable, incredibly scaled down (drop-by-drop) fuel. That means that they’re going to be incredibly ineffecient and continually reliant on a form of energy that (1) is so expensive it’s used for little else, and (2) any cost reductions due to increased technology will result in maintaining supply.
See, conservatives are so trained to hate solar power (and other renewables) because for two entire generations, hippies have been insisting it’s sooo wonderful when it was completely infeasible outside of niche markets. (i.e., sometimes it’s worth paying 10x more for electricity because you’re so far from the grid.) And they’ve been slow to recognize how fast the prices have come down, because formerly, price reductions were made through increased government interference, not actual cost reductions. But solar energy IS actually becoming cheaper than oil. And it’s going to keep getting cheaper and cheaper.
Yes, we’ll need storage systems (i.e., batteries) to make sure that energy is available when needed, not just when produced. But yes, those storage systems are going to become cheaper and cheaper. And get this: your electric car is one such storage system. You can charge it when its cheap (at noon) and use it when it’s costly (driving home that evening and back to work the next day).
Government intereference has harmed, not helped Tesla, by inspiring copy-cats which took resources away from Tesla. Every dime spent by Fisker, or by people buying Bolts, is a dime out of the pockets of Tesla. And that’s a lot more dimes than Tesla got from the government. (I’m talking Tesla alone here, not Elon Musk, whose SpaceX has the government as its primary client.)
"Build it and they will come," apparently doesn't apply to worthless electric cars and their empty, unused charging stations.
What the article didn't mention was the rush of people buying electric vehicles because of the charging stations...NOT.
Not only do electric cars not do well in cold climates but I can't envision people wanting to stand out in the freezing cold while their car charges up for the next 40 mile trip to the next charger.
The article talks about leadership being needed to kickstart the installation of more chargers for non-existent electric cars.
This is not leadership. This is liberal folly.
So true - and maybe the Liberal voters' theme song is Gimme Dat, Gimme Dat, Gimme Dat "Free" Stuff
New Brusnwick is a large, sparsely populated province
Energy Capacity by source in NB
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