Council seeks cost recovery option as EV charging stations go bust

Cold Lake, AB – After another year of monitoring the cost to operate electric vehicle chargers versus the revenue generated, the City of Cold Lake will need to increase its rate by 400 per cent to generate a positive cash flow for the service.

Administration shared the results of the program with Council at its Dec. 15, 2025, Corporate Priorities Meeting. The city’s electric vehicle chargers, installed in 2023, are independently metered. To date, after working through several bugs and technical issues early in the electric vehicle chargers’ operation, the city has taken a wait-and-see approach to learn about the cost of supplying power to electric vehicle chargers as administration seeks to develop a business case for the program.

The city set its charging rates to be in line with similar chargers in the region, with a rate of $30 per hour. In 2025, that rate generated $5,015.53 in gross revenue but had a total energy bill of $15,087.32. The cost of electricity for the year was $1,983.66 while the transmission and distribution charges totaled $13,103.66.

“We clearly see the cost to charge vehicles and the revenue generated at the charging station, and the fact is that we are operating these chargers at a serious shortfall,” Chief Administrative Officer, Kevin Nagoya, said. “Despite receiving a discounted rate for electric vehicle charging stations, we need a substantial increase before we start to see anything that approaches a financially sustainable program. Looking at the numbers, quite frankly, it would be cheaper to operate these chargers off diesel generators than through the grid.”

The city’s administration noted that the transmission and distribution charges quickly overtook the revenue generated by the sale of electricity via vehicle charging stations. These transmission and distribution charges could be eliminated by removing the dedicated electrical meters and tying the chargers into nearby city facilities. Removing these meters, however, would eliminate the ability to know the cost of electric vehicle charging. It would also prevent the city from accessing the discounted rate, since it applies to electric vehicle charging stations only, and not to city facilities generally.

“Our council has decided that we cannot power people’s vehicles on the taxpayer’s bill,” Mayor Bob Mattice said. “Administration will be bringing a plan forward to recoup the cost of the service we are providing.”

In 2025, the City of Cold Lake’s electric vehicle chargers averaged 25 charges per month, with a total of 104 users for the year. Due to individual usage patterns, staff estimate that about 50% of the chargers’ usage is from visitors to the community.

Administration will bring a plan to achieve full cost recovery for the electric vehicle charging program back to council for consideration at a future meeting.

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