In alignment with the City of Orillia’s Climate Change Action Plan, Orillia’s Climate Future, the City is making two electric vehicle (EV) charging stations available for public use at Orillia City Centre as part of a one-year pilot project.
“The City continues to move forward with our Climate Change Action Plan and is investing in infrastructure and equipment that will help us reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” said Mayor Don McIsaac. “By expanding the availability of EV charging stations available for public use in Orillia, we hope to help encourage the community to make greener choices.”
The EV charging stations were part of a project to install six charging stations (two at Orillia City Centre, two at the Municipal Operations Centre and two at Fire Station #1) to support future City electric fleet. As the EV charging stations at City Centre are publicly accessible, it was determined to make them available for public use for a one-year pilot project.
The Orillia City Centre EV charging stations are located in the facility parking lot near the rear entrance to the building at 50 Andrew St. S. The flat rate for all City-owned publicly accessible charging stations is $2 per hour, in line with municipal comparators.
“One of the ‘big moves’ identified for decarbonization in the City’s Climate Change Action Plan is increased uptake of electric vehicles, which reduce emissions from driving and air pollution and are more efficient,” said Renee Recoskie, Director of Facilities, Climate Change and Operations. “As the City begins electrifying our fleet, we are also encouraging those in the community to do the same. These charging stations are a step towards implementing Orillia’s Climate Future.”
The City installed two publicly accessible EV charging stations in 2021 at the Orillia Recreation Centre, located at 255 West St. S. The public use pilot project, in addition to all City EV charging station use, will be reviewed annually.
The municipality’s EV charging stations can be found through PlugShare and other applications that promote public EV charging stations.
To learn more about the benefits of EVs and the City’s EV charging stations, please visit orillia.ca/EVcharging.