New advocacy group to focus on putting real-world charger performance data in the hands of decision-makers

The state of Canada’s public EV charging network is a perennial topic of conversation in the halls of government coast-to-coast-to-coast.

Now, there is a new voice joining in: the Canadian Charging Infrastructure Council (CCIC). The CCIC is an industry group comprising Canada’s leading charging network operators, including FLO, ChargePoint, SWTCH, Papillions and Parkland.

Their mission: to put as much real-world charging station performance data into as many legislators’ hands as possible. This data, logic dictates, would then help the government in building the economic and regulatory pathways to attract large amounts of capital for EV charging from the private sector.

“[CCIC] is very much an economic and regulatory advocacy and education piece,” says CCIC president, Travis Allan, in an interview with Electric Autonomy.

“We understand where the objectives are and the milestones. The question now becomes one of clearing away regulatory burdens and providing important targets and commitments from government to assure private sector investors and lenders that it makes sense and that it is worthwhile to invest in the charging sector.”

More and faster charging deployment

Millions of dollars, thousands of locations and innumerable hours of work go into deciding which EV charging projects government funding go to — and how best to identify areas in immediate need of charging access.

With so much at stake, Allan believes hard data must inform the decisions.

That’s where CICC and its members come in. They are armed with real-world case studies and data to show what the various recipes are for a successful EV charging locations and experiences.

“I don’t want to understate how important it is to come to policymakers with very concrete data about the profitability of charging stations,” says Allan.

“The way that we are trying to be most helpful is by saying, ‘We will give you the numbers. We will tell you genuinely how this decision that you are making — this rate structure that you are considering, this incentive that you are talking about — will influence whether more chargers are going to be installed.’ It very much does come down to: Does this charging station make economic sense?”

“Broader representation”

The CCIC says their work complements what other advocacy groups like Electric Mobility Canada (EMC) and Clean Energy Canada (CEC) are already achieving.

The philosophy of the CCIC is that the more voices in the choir, the louder and farther the message carries.

“Our industry is now at a point where we deserve to have broader representation,” says Allan.

“There’s room for multiple voices here and we can supplement and support what EMC (for example) is doing by saying, ‘Here is the industry association perspective on why that’s such a good point that Daniel [Breton] is making or why it matters.'”

And now really is the time to be vocal, Allan believes. There is a new federal Liberal government and a new batch of political staff in key decision-making positions.

The need for education on EV charging infrastructure is paramount.

“They seem to be very interested in understanding what could move the needle and make the biggest impact,” he says.

“Our job is to make sure charging is rightly recognized as a major national infrastructure project.”