Township of Blandford-Blenheim Council directed staff to proceed with exploring the installation of electric vehicle charging stations through the Township during their regular meeting on Wednesday, June 4, 2025.
According to Trevor Baer, Director of Community Services, the Township is looking at setting up three charging stations each within the villages of Bright, Drumbo, Plattsville and Princeton.
Baer said that the project is being funded through a grant from the Ministry of Transportation’s EV ChargeON program, and that any, and all, remaining capital costs for each site, will be funded by eCAMION inc. (Jule).
“Through this partnership, the Township was awarded full project funding, ensuring that all installation and infrastructure costs are covered without requiring capital investment from the municipality,” he said.
As far as the operational details and responsibilities, under the proposed agreement, Jule will be responsible for several things including: the installing of all of the EV charging stations and battery storage units, ongoing operation and maintenance of the charging infrastructure, and payment of all hydro costs which are to be calculated by using smart meters connected to each battery.
“Jule will be billed quarterly for all electrical use, relieving the Township of ongoing utility expenses related to these stations,” said Baer.
As part of the agreement, Jule will pay the Township a fee of $100 per parking spot per month, and the Township’s only operational responsibility will be to ensure that snow is cleared from the designated spots during the winter so that they can remain accessible all year round.
According to Baer’s report, the charging stations aren’t necessarily going to be used by those in the community, but by those visiting the following proposed locations: Bright Park, the Princeton Hall parking lot, the Plattsville Arena parking lot and Drumbo Park.
During the meeting, Mayor Mark Peterson did express a few concerns in regards to the locations.
“At Drumbo Park, once the snow hits nobody can get into that park at all, if we get snow in early December, nobody will use that if it’s not cleaned out to get there. So, my thoughts were maybe to move them to a couple different spots; …I’m thinking our parking lot on the main street in Drumbo, for example, would be a location that’s year round accessible. I realize the traffic that goes to the park in the summer is far bigger, but I’m just thinking of usage over time,” he said. “The Princeton Hall parking lot, I think that’s a good location because I think they can be used year round, I think the same goes for the Plattsville arena parking lot. The Bright Park, I wasn’t sure about whether we needed to put three there, but wherever we put them, I want them to be used.”
Baer then clarified that in the agreement, it stated that the municipality is responsible for making sure that all of the charging stations are accessible no matter the weather.
“We can get the snow removed in the Drumbo Park, but we are trying to amend it [the agreement] to have the chargers at the Township office,” he said.
After a few more points of discussion, Council voted to accept the report as information and to move forward with exploring the installation of electric vehicle charging stations in the villages of Bright, Drumbo, Plattsville and Princeton.
Staff will later return to Council with a report regarding the authorization to enter into the agreement with eCAMION Inc. (Jule) for the installation, operation, and maintenance of the electric vehicle charging stations.
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
