The Prince George Citizen

Pay for your own EV

- Jorgen Hansen Kelowna

We just had a short visit to Victoria and to Europe where politician­s are promising a real rosy outlook for the future. By 2030-2040 we will not import any diesel or gasoline vehicles because we will be all electric. Yes, they are all wet in the pants over this announceme­nt.

I assume that these politician­s can just pull magic right out of the wires and transforme­rs already in place all over these areas where they want electric vehicles? In our area, if one half of the cars were now electric, our server cannot send enough new electricit­y to our neighbours to give them 70-80 amperes of power to plug in each vehicle.

This is the reality, not a new dream.

First, politician­s cannot promise such wide new changes without doing their homework. Where are the funds to upgrade our grids to be ready for the electric vehicles?

Then, our politician­s want to give new purchasers of electric vehicles incentive dollars from me, to help them purchase a new electric vehicle. Where will these funds come from?

You may have heard about the sewage surges that occur at 7 a.m., 6 p.m. and 9 p.m., when everyone is using water so sewer flows are larger. Well, we will see electric surges at some times, especially when mom and dad come home from work and plug their new electric vehicle in at the same time. Will the system be able to cope with this?

Politician­s should allow the public and the market to make these changes, especially if electric vehicles become more popular and affordable and are able to drive from Vancouver to Kelowna on one charge in winter time. Let politician­s worry more about BC Hydro and ICBC and provincial long term debts and attempt to be honest with the voters.

There is nothing wrong with thinking about electric vehicles, especially when they are able to perform the job. I don’t want to purchase an electric vehicle for my neighbour.

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