TORONTO, Ont. — No longer a novelty, electric vehicles are gaining significant momentum in Canada — which means it is time to get moving on ensuring the necessary infrastructure is in place to support the transition from gasoline-powered engines to electric batteries.
According to a report by Bloomberg, transportation is responsible for a quarter of the world’s carbon emissions. Its analysis of EV sales found that the “tipping point” is 5 per cent in 19 countries — once EV sales hit 5 per cent of the total market, it starts a tsunami in the marketplace. Both Canada and the United States hit the 5 per cent threshold in 2022; if the global trend applies here, a quarter of the cars on our roads by the end of 2025 will be fully electric.
Yet assessments of more than 1,000 buildings across Canada completed by EnerSavings, a leading energy management company, showed that without proper planning, 99 per cent of the buildings in Canada would not have the electrical capacity to support a full network of EV charging stations.
“The time to have a serious conversation about the future of powering our vehicles is now,” says Kevin Lisso, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of EnerSavings. “The electric vehicle future is no longer a hope or a theory; it’s here now. The infrastructure supporting vehicles on our roadways is about to become obsolete. We must take steps today to ensure we are ready when the Net Zero future arrives.”
The transition to electric vehicles is a key piece of Canada’s emission reduction plan, and the federal government has pledged $2.9 billion to support the move. The signature piece of this plan is a mandate to have every vehicle sold in Canada by 2035 be a zero-emission vehicle (ZEV), with benchmarks along the way to have ZEVs hit 20 per cent of sales in 2026 and 60 per cent by 2030.
But it also includes support for charging infrastructure, and this is key. But a government announcement of support is just one thing; little will happen until stakeholders start moving to drive this change.
“With the clock ticking on vehicles that emit greenhouse gases, it is incumbent on building owners and facility managers to look into that electric future and ensure their properties are EV-ready,” says Mr. Lisso. “Think of all the condos and apartment buildings in Canada’s major urban centres and all the parking spaces that come with them. Suppose everybody is going to be driving an EV within a generation. In that case, every single one of those parking spaces is going to need a charger with the appropriate equipment to support the additional load that is going to be put on the power grid.”
EnerSavings has “future-proofed” 250 buildings across the country with a customized EV charging solution that will meet the needs of the future without breaking the bank of building owners and property managers. It has also replaced more than 100 inferior EV chargers with its intelligent EV energy management system.
The EV-Ready-Set-Go! solution from EnerSavings helps condo boards, landlords, property managers, and residents prepare for the EV transition at their own pace.
The program delivers a financially responsible, manageable, sustainable and flexible roll-out plan designed to offer protection against the costs of delayed adoption and costly future electrical upgrades for retrofits and obsolete equipment. It is also geared to maximize benefits from government rebates and incentives.
About EnerSavings:
Headquartered in Toronto, EnerSavings is Canada’s leading energy management company that offers sustainable and tailored energy-saving solutions for clients in the industrial, commercial, institutional and multi-residential sectors. EnerSavings provides top-quality products and white-glove service. Its retrofits help reduce energy bills by up to 75 percent while lowering greenhouse gas emissions. To find out how EnerSavings can help your business be more sustainable, please email info@enersavings.com or call 1-800 874 3470.
For more information, please visit enersavings.com or connect with EnerSavings on LinkedIn at /EnerSavings-inc, Twitter @EnerSavingsInc, Facebook at /EnersavingsInc and Instagram @EnerSavingsInc.
