A program funding EV charging access across Canada is accepting applications until the last week of February—after a successful year of sponsoring 100% of the costs to install chargers in underserved communities.

In the township of Selwyn, Ontario, several local businesses have grown interested in EV chargers—with some of them considering buying EVs—since the first set of chargers were installed through the Charged for Change program, Lily Morrow, the township’s sustainability coordinator, told The Energy Mix.

Selwyn was one of seven municipalities to receive funding for EV chargers in the first year of the three-year program, which is run by the Aviva insurance company in partnership with Earth Day Canada. The township completed installation of six new Level 2 chargers across four locations in November, 2023.

Morrow said residents and businesses have responded positively to the new chargers, and now neighbouring municipalities are considering plans to increase access.

Charged for Change aims to support EV charging infrastructure in communities that have a higher ratio of residents to chargers than the provincial average. The funding covers 100% of the cost of installation, up to a maximum of C$125,000.

Installations can be in public places, at the curbside, in multi-unit residential buildings, or in workplaces, according to the program application guide [pdf].

Last year, five of the communities that applied had no chargers before the signed on. Though all of the 2023 recipients were based in Ontario, the program is open to communities in other provinces.

In Selwyn, “since being installed, the township’s EV chargers have supported over 900 hours of charging,” Morrow said. “We expect to see the use of the chargers continue to increase as we approach the summer season and have an influx of seasonal residents and tourists.”

Samuel Haniff, manager of planning for the Township of Essa, which also received funding last year, told The Mix the community applied to the program after being contacted by Earth Day Canada.

“This seemed like an exciting initiative since our settlement areas didn’t have any EV chargers at that time,” he said. The program allowed Essa to buy and install two dual-head chargers at two locations “at no cost to our taxpayers.”

That made the program “highly beneficial to smaller communities looking to introduce chargers,” he added.

For this year, applications close February 22 at 4 PM, and Brighton, Ontario, which currently has no EV chargers, has applied for an installation near a supermarket parking lot. Mayor Brian Ostrander said the community added infrastructure for the chargers during a recent repaving project, but had no funds to install the actual charging units at the time.