So why would you want to own an electric car in BC? The first reason is simple, with gas prices rising the way it has over the past year in BC, more and more attention to electric vehicles and their cost savings per kilometre are attractive to the residents in BC. The average savings on fuel expenses that a resident spends around $2400 a year on gas for their combustion car, with an electric vehicle you would reduce the savings to around $320 in fuel per year.
Food for thought, what would you do with an extra $2,000 per year?
Digger a little deeper let’s do some cost comparisons. The Nissan Leaf costs about $2 in electricity for 250 kilometres whereas Tesla Model S costs $8 for 1000 kilometres. If you were to pay that in gas the Nissan Leaf would be around $40 and the Tesla would be around $120, that is quite the difference. I have not even mentioned the cost savings from a mechanic you would save from regular oil changes and maintenance per year.
The second consideration on why you should own an electric car is for environmentally friendly reasons. The government of BC has put in place a plan to make BC more green and environmentally friendly by the year of 2050(click here for the article). Canada’s long-term GHG strategy is to find a way to reduce net emissions by 80% in 2050 from what they were in 2005. And the switch from fossil-fuel power to electricity for a variety of products and applications is seen as a key to reaching that target.
With that being said the oil and gas industry in transportation, from the cars we use on our daily commutes, to commercial trucks, railways and aviation, accounts for about 37% of B.C.’s carbon emissions. Electric cars are the biggest way we can reduce our carbon emissions and GHG I the immediate future. Click here for the government statistics in 2015.
With the BC and Federal Government both looking to reduce carbon emissions, they are leading the way with incentives and grants for electric vehicle chargers which is my third and final point. BC, in general, has multiple programs to help promote the greener energy space and encouraging people to move for combustion gas guzzling cars to electric vehicles. Scrap-IT BC (https://scrapit.ca/) will incentivize Canadians to switch their old combustion cars for a new or used electric car. The Scrap-IT program will give you up to $6,000 towards a new EV purchase or $3,000 for a used vehicle, Click here for more details.
Alongside with the Scrap-It program to get your hands on a new electric vehicle, there are grants available to help you set up the infrastructure for you to charge your new electric vehicles. Plugin BC (https://pluginbc.ca/) provides incentives for businesses, homeowners, or multi-unit strata complexes to set up the infrastructure for electric charging stations. The specific incentives are listed below(https://pluginbc.ca/charging-program/):
• For fleets (businesses) could apply for a rebate of 33%, up to $2,000 on the purchase and installation of a Level 2 charging station.
• Plugin BC will offer a reimbursement of 33% of total cost (before tax) up to $2,000 per station purchased and installed.
• For residences Plugin BC will reimburse 75% of project costs up to $4,000 per Level 2 station with a max of 2 stations per property.
• Incentives for businesses and Plugin BC include 50% of eligible costs, up to a maximum of $2,000 per level 1 station and up to a maximum of $4,000 per level 2 station of eligible costs.
By now I think you can see the direct advantages of owning an electric vehicle whether you are looking to reduce your costs of fuel and vehicle maintenance, help Canada as a whole reduce their carbon emissions, or are looking for incentives for yourself or strata complex, I hope this article provided you with enough information to make an education decision.
For any electric charger or electric car related questions feel free to email me or leave a comment below.