Despite more hybrid cars entering Saskatchewan’s highways, SaskPower and the groups representing electric vehicles are also eager to learn from users about their encounters.
The number of electric vehicles in the province is that last year, but it can be a struggle to find a place the charge up.
Since almost a year and a half, Kyle Fisher has been driving an electric car, so he’ll be the first to say you he likes this.
“I really like not needing to put up with gas or oil or all the old-school things other cars have,” he said.
Such cars don’t have one old-school thing: gas stations as readily available.
According to SaskPower, there are about 50 state charging stations in the province.
Like other cars, Fisher points out that electric car drivers typically have chargers at home and there’s no worry over quick trips within the area.
“This car can go just over 400km, which is decent,” he said. “It can get you places, but once you get there there’s no place you can charge up quickly.”
According to SGI, the number of electric vehicles registered in Saskatchewan has risen over the past decade, from just 28 in 2015 to over 300 in July 2020.
The study being undertaken by SaskPower, the Saskatchewan Electric Vehicle Association (SEVA) and SaskEV — two groups of electric vehicles — should look at issues like where people are charging their cars, where, and if more stations are needed.
“We’re still looking for providers to step forward and offer more options on the corridor to Edmonton, the corridor up north through Prince Albert, even the corridor down to Regina is a little bit light,” said SaskEV president Jason Cruickshank.
“That’s still the struggle.”
Fisher said he hopes with more “fast charge” stations — which usually take around an hour to charge a car for the nine hours it claims it takes him home — more citizens on the electric track can expect.
“I have a lot of in-laws that would be interested, but they simply don’t have any infrastructure where they are and they need to make longer distance trips because they need to come into the city and back,” he explained.
The enquiry is available online. SaskPower said its findings would affect how its grid aims to handle Saskatchewan ‘s rising number of electric vehicles in the future.
