Vancouver wants to charge gas stations and parking lots without EV chargers a $10,000 CAD ($7,900) annual fee to encourage the take-up of electric vehicles in the city.

A business license for a gas station in the city currently costs $263 CAD ($209), and a parking lot license stands at $163 ($129), but if sites can’t offer charging stations by 2025 they’ll be stung with a huge additional bill.

Gas stations would be required to provide 50 kW of charging power, according to a report on news website, The Province, which is enough for one fast DC charger. Parking lots would be required to offer 26.6 kW of juice, equating to four lower-powered chargers delivering around 12-30 miles (20-50 km) of additional electric driving per hour of charging, though smaller lots holding fewer than 60 cars would be exempt.

Vancouver City Hall believes the scheme would speed up the rollout of electric charging points in the city and encourage drivers to make the switch to EVs. A 2021 survey of 12,000 Vancouver residents found that that the limited availability of charging options was dissuading drivers from ditching their ICE vehicles for electric cars.

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Gas stations face a $136,000 CAD bill to install chargers, or a $10,000 fine if they don’t

The proposal is a handy way for Vancouver’s officials to expand the city’s charging infrastructure while incurring no cost. In fact, the scheme could raise $1.7 million CAD ($1.35), which predicts that 30 percent of gas stations and 40 percent of Vancouver parking lots would install chargers by 2030, increasing the number of chargers in the city by around 100. City staff say any money raised would be used to fund climate initiatives.

Predictably, businesses potentially affected by the proposal aren’t enthusiastic about the charge for not installing chargers, or the cost of installation should they decide to put some in. City Hall estimates it will cost $136,000 CAD ($108,000) to install a charger to a gas station, and $100,000 CAD ($79,000) to a parking lot, and that businesses can expect a seven- or eight-year wait to recoup that investment.

Thanks to DB for the tip!