BC Hydro says it has tripled the size of its electric vehicle fast-charger network over the last year.
On Friday, the Crown corporation said it now has 591 charging stations across B.C., an increase of 400 over the year prior.
“By this time next year in 2026 we’re hoping to have about 800 charging ports across the province, and we also completed over the past year the electric highway in partnership with the province of B.C., so we have charging ports along a network of highways in B.C. so every 1,560 km you’re able to charge up,” BC Hydro spokesperson Susie Reider said.
Electric vehicle owner Jimmy James Mondiwa told Global News he has noticed a tangible improvement in the accessibility of charges, wherever he is in the province.
“On Easter, I travelled to Kamloops and I decided to use Highway 1 from Hope to Athcheson,” he said.
“In remote areas I found there were BC Hydro charging points, charging stations, up the mountains, so I think they’ve managed to reach their goal.”
Mondiwa said the major headache for drivers now is that many charging stations still aren’t fast enough.
The expansion comes with nearly 200,000 electric vehicles now on the province’s roads.
That number is forecast to climb to between 700,000 and 900,000 in the next decade, as the province and federal government phase in electric vehicle sales mandates.
A report last year by the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association said that in order to meet the demand created by the federal government’s mandate of 100 percent zero-emission vehicle sales by 2035, Canada would need to add 40,000 new chargers per year.