BC Hydro adds EV charge site on Highway 6 in Cherryville

Photo: Contributed

A new BC Hydro electric vehicle fast-charging site is now up and running in Cherryville.

It's the latest in Hydro's network of more than 130 public fast chargers in B.C.

“We are working to make it easier for drivers in B.C. to go electric and use more of B.C.’s clean, reliable hydroelectricity,” Minister of Energy, Mines and Low-Carbon Innovation Josie Osborne said in a press release.

The Cherryville site opened Feb. 2 and is located near Highway 6 and Sugar Lake Road.

It includes two 25-kilowatt charging units. Each unit can add 25 kilometres of driving to an average electric vehicle in about 10 minutes.

“This new charge site in Cherryville will significantly improve charging access for electric vehicle drivers on Highway 6 in the North Okanagan,” says Vernon-Monashee MLA Harwinder Sandhu.

Transportation accounts for about 40 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions in B.C., Hydro says.

“As the primary fuel supplier for electric vehicles, we are building out charging infrastructure to ensure we can accommodate the volume and variety of electric vehicles that will be on B.C. roads in the coming years,” says BC Hydro CEO Chris O’Riley.

Hydro expects to have 325 charging units in its network at 145 sites by the end of 2025. It currently has 139 charging units at 83 sites.

The chargers are funded in a partnership with the Province of B.C. and Natural Resources Canada.