Send this page to someone via email

A Kingston-area woman is the happy owner of a new electric vehicle but she’s not happy with the province’s efforts to install public chargers needed to power her new ride.

Elsabe Falkson says she had already purchased an electric car before she realized there are no public fast-charging outlets available in the area.

READ MORE: Ontario misses deadline for electric vehicle charging stations

“I’m trying to be green and I’m also trying to save a little bit of money”. Tweet This

The Ontario government committed $22 million in the 2017 budget for a network of public charging stations across the province.

According to Kingston and the Islands MPP Sophie Kiwala, they’re working on phase two of the rollout and about 55 per cent of the network is complete.

Story continues below advertisement

“I think that it’s unrealistic to expect that an infusion of 100 per cent service with the advent of any new technology is going to be established right at the beginning.” Tweet This

Prior to buying her electric vehicle Falkson checked online and found that a public charging station was slated to be installed in Kingston soon. A few months have passed and the station is still not installed as scheduled at the Rio Can Centre in the west end of the city. She thought the process would have been a little quicker.

READ MORE: Ontario boosts incentives to people who buy electric cars

“It’s our job to address those gaps as quickly as possible which we are doing and I have been in touch with the minister about the issue. I spoke to him about the issue when we originally came out with it and of course put in a plug — no pun intended for Kingston,” said Kiwala. Tweet This

The province announced this past spring that it’s working with 24 public and private sector partners to install 500 fast charging stations.

The Ministry of Transportation says the new network will eventually allow drivers to drive confidently from Windsor to Ottawa or Toronto to North Bay.