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BC Hydro triples size of its public EV charging network to nearly 600 ports in just one year

Kenneth Chan
Kenneth Chan
|
Apr 25 2025, 9:09 pm
BC Hydro triples size of its public EV charging network to nearly 600 ports in just one year
A BC Hydro-operated battery-electric vehicle public charging station. (BC Hydro)

As of this month, there are 591 charging ports for battery-electric vehicles across BC Hydro’s public charging network.

Over the past year, 418 new charging ports were added. This represents a tripling of the network’s size in just one year, representing an installation rate of an average of more than one port per day.

“At BC Hydro, we’re proud to be a key partner with our customers as leaders in North American EV adoption,” said Chris O’Riley, president and CEO of BC Hydro, in a statement today.

“We are paving the way to a cleaner, more sustainable and convenient transportation future for British Columbians through investments in infrastructure, technology and partnerships.”

Some of the most recent installations include a site expansion of 17 additional ports at 555 West Boulevard in Kerrisdale in Vancouver, 12 new ports at 5577 153a St. in Panorama Place in Surrey, and nine new ports at Inlet Park in Port Moody.

Later in 2025, the provincial electric utility will complete its first 400 kW charging, providing 100 km of range in just three minutes. Currently, some locations have 350 kW charging, capable of delivering up to 100 km of range in five minutes.

BC Hydro aims to further expand its public charging network to 800 ports by Spring 2026.

The strategy focuses on providing numerous charging ports at station locations to reduce wait times for drivers, with some locations featuring up to 22 ports.

Along major highway routes, fast chargers are placed about every 150 km, with the so-called “Electric Highway” completed in September 2024. BC Hydro operates 111 of the 155 public charging locations along these corridors.

According to the provincial government, there are currently about 195,000 battery-electric vehicles in B.C., with this figure expected to rise to 700,000 to 900,000 within the next 10 years.

A recent survey suggests public charger availability and battery-electric vehicle range remain a major concern for B.C. residents, especially the impacts on the range due to cold weather.

The statistics for 2024 have yet to be released, but there have been rising rates of battery-electric car sales, with 18 per cent of new light-duty vehicle purchases being such models, rising to 23 per cent in 2023.

After it became apparent that B.C. was experiencing higher rates of battery-electric car sales than previously anticipated, the provincial government in 2023 accelerated its legislated targets, with 26 per cent of car sales being battery-electric models by 2026, 90 per cent by 2030, and 100 per cent by 2035.

In contrast, the 2019-approved original legislated targets required 10 per cent of light-duty new passenger vehicle sales to be zero-emission models by 2025, 30 per cent by 2030, and 100 per cent by 2040.

The growing adoption of battery-electric vehicles is also one of the contributing factors for BC Hydro’s need to buy more electricity much sooner than previously expected — before the end of this decade, even with the full completion of the new Site C hydroelectric dam this year.

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