‘A bit of a bumpy start’ as EV drivers welcome new Sackville fast charger
Downtown Sackville has a new fast EV charger. The FLO brand charger which is connected to NB Power’s eCharge network went live on September 21 in the parking lot between the post office and Goya’s Pizza in downtown Sackville. About 25 different EVs have successfully charge since then, says Corporate Services Director Kieran Miller. Unfortunately, roughly 25 other potential users were unable to connect to the charger. Miller says the project has “had a bit of bumpy start” with reported errors from some users, but the town is “working with FLO to get those issues resolved.”
“It’s a bit of a mix of people having an issue versus people being able to successfully charge,” says Miller. “It’s definitely new technology for us, so there’ll be some growing pains as we onboard it.” Miller says she hopes users will be patient, and inform the town if they encounter any issues.
People connecting to the charger will pay for their charge through the NB Power eCharge network, but the charger is owned by Tantramar, and so net revenue, after covering the cost of the power, will come to the town. Tantramar set the rate at $15 per hour of charging, the same rate used at other eCharge network chargers.
Miller says that usage data available to the town doesn’t show where drivers are coming from, but at least one of the potential users is a local EV owner who met with CHMA downtown to talk about the charger and his experience owning an EV:
Sackville resident Lucas Morneau has owned his EV since 2022, and unlike many EV owners, does not have his own home charger, instead relying on public charging networks including DC fast chargers like the one just installed downtown, and level 2 chargers like the one Sackville installed at the Visitor Information Centre (VIC) in 2014.… Continue