http://torontosun.com/news/provincial/ont-electric-car-charging-program-was-screw-up-ev-drivers
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Ontario's electric car charge station 'screw up'
Jenny YuenMore from Jenny Yuen
Published:
January 28, 2018
Updated:
February 23, 2018 10:43 AM EST
Delays in installation. Complaints of broken machines and bad customer
service.
Two years after Ontario’s Liberal government introduced a province-wide
program to expand electric vehicle use, the program is being called “a
screw-up” by some users and “a failure” by those in the electric vehicle
industry.
Called the EVCO program — Electric Vehicle Chargers Ontario — the
Liberals announced plans in 2016 to spend $20 million on a network of
500 charging stations for electric vehicles across the province. The
goal of the network was to “enable EV drivers to travel between and
within cities,” boost electric car sales and “fight climate change.”
“By investing in charging infrastructure that is fast, reliable and
affordable, we are encouraging more Ontarians to purchase electric
vehicles, reducing greenhouse gas pollution and keeping our air clean,”
then-transportation minister Steven Del Duca said at the time.
But instead of the reliable, affordable network of charging stations,
just over half the charging stations (55%) that were supposed to be
constructed by March 2017 have been built, 55% of the new charging
stations are concentrated in downtown Toronto and the GTA — which is
already saturated with charging stations — instead of on provincial
highways between cities where the Liberals said they were needed.
According to customers, government-funded charging stations frequently
sit unused, the government lacks the ability to track how often or
whether they are used and some users complain those in service are
frequently broken and in disrepair.
Paul Raszewski, founder of the Toronto Electric Vehicle Association,
says the EVCO program has been a “screw-up” ever since the Ontario
government awarded the 57% lion’s share of the contract – worth $11.4
million – to KSI, a relatively unknown Mississauga green energy firm.
“Since then, there have been a lot of delays installing those locations.
Some of them still have not been completed and those that have, there
are issues with them,” Raszewski said.
“They’re not being serviced properly, some of them are malfunctioning
and when people call the number, they say they’ll respond within 48
hours and when someone’s stuck out there with no charge — in -41C
weather — obviously members are very upset by that. The government is
not responding, so I guess they’re putting their tails between their
legs and not commenting on it. I think they now know they screwed up.”
And it didn’t make sense, Raszewski said, for the province to put 55% of
the new EVCO chargers within the GTA and 45% outside without data to
prove more downtown chargers were even necessary.
There is already a saturation of privately-operated chargers downtown,
he said. Where chargers are actually needed are along stretches of
highway outside of the Toronto area and in apartments and condos.
Ontario’s Ministry of Transportation (MTO) set aside $20 million to
expand the province’s EVC network and, in total, awarded contracts to 24
of 200 applicants. The ministry’s goal was deliver 500 charging stations
by March 31 last year, including nearly 300 Level 2 charging stations —
which can fully charge an electric vehicle in four to eight hours — and
over 200 Level 3 quick charging stations which bring an electric vehicle
to an 80% charge in 30 minutes.
Mississauga-based Koben Systems Inc. (KSI) won the bulk of the contract.
KSI is responsible for purchasing, installing and maintaining 337
chargers (193 Level 2 and 144 Level 3 quick chargers) for five years.
MTO confirmed in January that a total of 151 of those stations are still
missing in action.
According to media reports, permits, land rights and other impediments
contributed to the delay. And the government insists that while it is
working with KSI, the EVCO chargers are owned and operated by the
funding recipients and not by the province.
However, public and user response has been less patient and frequently
frustrated.
“This company really needs to get their act together,” wrote a person
on KSI’s Facebook page.
“The 50kW units barely put out 20, if you can get them to start at all.
Neither Android nor iOS app work properly, credit card readers on the
machines don’t work. The rates are much higher than their competitors
for a slower charge. Today, I was stranded in -20 weather, kids in the
car, trying to activate the only quick charger in Belleville. Six phone
calls later, we are giving up and camping out at a nearby hotel … This
is critical infrastructure and it is useless when I need it most.”
Those in the electric vehicle industry are baffled over why the province
would award such a big contract to a relatively unknown, unproven firm,
but the ministry contends it followed standard procurement procedures.
Among the top EV charging network firms that bid on the contract apart
from KSI were Quebec-based Arza Network Canada Inc. which submitted a
$14.6-million bid, Toronto’s Plug’n Drive at $16 million and Vaughan’s
Autochargers.ca at $20 million. KSI submitted the cheapest proposal at
$10.8 million and received final approval for $11.4 million because
three other approved funding recipients withdrew from the program and
the ministry decided to reallocate that money.
Gleb Nikiforov, the CEO of Autochargers.ca, said he submitted a
2,200-page proposal — 400 pages contained referrals from well-known
companies in the electric vehicle industry, including ChargePoint
equipment — to install chargers at 100 locations predominantly in the
corridors between major cities.
Nikiforov said the Ministry of Transportation stopped communicating with
him two weeks prior announcing the winning bids — though he says his
biggest beef isn’t with ministry officials, but with the unreliability
of the company that won.
“We were extremely disappointed. The province could have had the best
equipment, which are backed up by the best companies in the market,”
said Nikiforov. “We had a very solid proposal. They ceased all
communication with us and we weren’t even awarded a single location.
“A lot of municipalities went through the request-for-proposal process
after they were awarded (the initial funds), so that was weird. How they
calculated the money (allotted) based on that, I don’t know.”
Nikiforov speculates the government blindly went with the cheapest
bidder, and the cheapest bidder made what may turn out to be a fatal error.
“I think (KSI) went full throttle on it and promised too much and the
ministry believed them and they didn’t fulfill their promise,” he said.
“Their approach of creating their own software – a small company like
that, with that little money, it’s impossible. ChargePoint is the
largest company in the industry. They spent $100 million on software to
make it work. There’s a Blink network in the U.S. that used the same
approach as KSI and they got bankrupted.”
KSI is the brainchild of Vic Burconak, listed on his LinkedIn profile as
president and CEO of the company and who describes himself as a “senior
business executive with over 25 years of sales and operational
experience launching, building and managing businesses.”
“A visionary sales executive with a passion for the ‘hunt’ and proven
track record for overachieving goals by implementing strategies that
endear clients, drive revenue and secure new accounts,” the profile
said. “Outstanding ability to ‘close.’”
The Manitoba native lists himself as a past managing partner of Koben
Homes, where he said he flipped homes and condos and then worked for
iBuild management software for residential builders and renovators. He
also worked as an actor on a Canadian TV series called, Masterminds.
According to an Ontario provincial corporation profile report, KSI was
incorporated on Oct. 7, 2010, and headquartered at his home on Crestdale
Rd. in Mississauga. Burconak registered a new address in a commercial
plaza on Dunwin Dr. three years later, according to Industry Canada
documents, who list the green energy company with 50 or few shareholders.
Burconak’s estranged sister, Kristyn Kelly, alleges her brother used an
inheritance after their parents died in 2012 and 2013 to fund his
company. The Sun was shown e-mails regarding the parents’ estate
division sent to Kelly using Burconak’s KSI company e-mail.
“He started this business and he doesn’t have any knowledge of electric
vehicle charging systems,” she said.
Kelly, 52, said their relationship growing up in Winnipeg was strained.
She characterized him as “narcissistic.” She added he doesn’t own an
electric car and instead opts to drive “a giant gas-guzzling Dodge Ram
pickup.”
“I think he created KSI solely to make money. He won’t be a success at
it,” she said. “He has no experience building these networks … He’s not
competent to do this kind of work. He has the initiative to make money,
but not to satisfy customers.”
Multiple interview requests to Burconak on his sister’s allegations as
well as the customer complaints were not returned.
Raszewski said “People still use KSI (chargers) in spite of the
concerns. Some people have no choice, like those who live in apartments
and condos, which rarely offer any charging. They’re fighting with
landlords and condo boards to have them installed. Those people have to
rely on the public infrastructure.”
For its part, the MTO stands by its decision to go with KSI.
“EVCO was an open competitive application-based program which received
an overwhelming number of applications,” responded Joshua Henry,
spokesman for the MTO.
“Through the evaluation process, the appropriateness of the sites and
the number of stations per site were carefully considered, with a focus
on the connectivity of the resulting network. Funds were awarded to
recipients based on value for money and connectivity of locations.”
MTO said it is aware of the complaints against KSI and have discussed
them with the company.
“We understand that they are working toward solutions to ensure they are
meeting the needs of their customers,” said Henry. “We continue to
monitor KSI’s progress and address any issues in accordance with the
terms of their agreement.”
Nikiforov counters: “The problem with KSI was their unrealistic approach
and promises they made.”
“I think (Burconak) took his chance and he promised too much and
somehow, the ministry believed him. I wouldn’t believe him. And if you
ask anybody in the industry who knows him, you would hear the same
reply,” Nikiforov said.
“If the project had been Flo or ChargePoint, that would be great because
then the government would have seen which network is more robust over
the years. But instead, they bet on a network which is cheap, cheap, cheap.”
The Trillium Automobile Dealers Association meanwhile says without
proper public charging infrastructure, the government’s strategy to get
more people to buy EVs is seriously undermined.
The association would not only like more charging stations put in areas
that need them, but a reduction in charge time from 30 minutes to five
minutes, for faster turnover, using the latest high-speed charging
technology.
“It makes it a big problem with range anxiety,” said Frank Notte, the
association’s director of government relations.
The Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association also said a reliable
network public chargers is critical, along with public education and
buying incentive programs. But if the network isn’t up yet, that doesn’t
mean they’ll stop production.
“We don’t rely on that,” said president Mark Nantais. “The home
recharging, consumers have that. And vehicles now have a greater range.
We’re not going to stop doing what we need to do to put these vehicles
into the market.”
The Sun visited at least three private parking garages with the EVCO
stations in different areas of Toronto. None was being used. However,
the charging stations, owned and operated by the private garages were full.
Couple that with the fact more people tend to charge their vehicles at
home, rather than in public stalls unless necessary, or when commuting
longer distances, shopping or at work and the lack of data on how when
and were charging stations are used is problematic.
As a further complication, some privately owned chargers may be
government-funded or operated by the property owner or landlord,
sometimes for free.
In short – why pay to use the government stations when free ones are
available?
FleetCarma — a Waterloo-based fleet management company — is currently
working on a “Charge the North” report, which tracks EV drivers’
charging habits.
“The preference toward at-home charging is so strong that the
perceived barrier of charging duration may not be a barrier at all, at
least not at home,” said the website’s digital marketing manager Eric
Schmidt.
“Both survey and study data reveal irregular use of public fast
chargers. Only 3% of all charge events, 6% of energy consumed by EVs was
at a fast charger. Instead, there is an overwhelming preference for
Level 2 home charging which accounts for approximately 69% of all charge
events and 75% of all energy.”
As well, some drivers have complained that only Level 3 chargers are
being installed near them, which are incompatible with their hybrid
vehicles, that require Level 2.
The EVCO ones cost $10-$17 for an hour of Level 3 charging while the
privately-owned ones tend to charge slower, but cost nothing to the driver.
According to FleetCarma, Ontario is way ahead of other provinces, seeing
a 110% increase – with 7,200 total purchased vehicles last year up to
November – over 2016. Canada as a whole is seeing a 67% increase in
year-to-date sales, with Tesla Model S, Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Bolt
as the top sellers. The province wants to boost EV sales to 5% of total
vehicle sales by then. Ontario vehicle sales are at 1.1% right now,
according to FleetCarma data.
Currently, there are more than 17,536 electric vehicles on the road in
Ontario.
In January, MTO announced a new a Workplace Electric Vehicle Charging
Incentive Program that covers 80% of the cost of installing electric
vehicle charging stations – up to $7,500 per space – for companies and
commercial building owners as an additional for the province to expand
its EV charging infrastructure, earmarking up to $5 million from its
cap-and-trade auction.
Raszewski said his group is concerned there will be more hiccups. He’s
been receiving feedback from some of his 1,000 members that the
application process is “convoluted.” MTO should require companies to
include a tracking mechanism on chargers, he said, to track data on time
spent and kilowatts used for charges.
“No machine can now provide the state of charge of the car before the
session started. There’s no hardware out there. I’m not sure if somebody
knows, but that would prevent anybody from successfully applying to the
program,” he said.
“The government wants to keep track of how successful that program is,
how frequently people use it, how much energy, how much people are being
charged. Maybe after being burned from the first program, they are being
overly careful in the second program.”
But for now, Nikiforov, the autochargers.ca president, said first things
first. The ministry should mandate KSI hand over whatever equipment to
another company to finish the job, create a program that works and
ensure only companies that can deliver results can bid.
The current EVCO program, he said, has been “a failure.”
jyuen@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
WHAT ARE CHARGING LEVELS?
-Charging stations are divided into “Levels” and escalating numbers
indicate an increase in power – Level 1 is like plugging your car into
an ordinary household, which would take eight to 20 hours for a full charge.
-Level 2 stations use a 240-volt system, similar to a clothes dryer
plug, and can fully charge a vehicle in four hours to six hours.
-Level 3 is the fastest of the three and one hour of charge will allow a
motorist to travel 250 kilometres. Quick chargers can refill an empty
battery to 80% in about 30 mins.
-The majority of charging stations of the province’s EVCO program are
Level 2 and 3.
-Jenny Yuen
WHAT ARE PRIVATE LANDLORDS DOING FOR EVs?
Manulife Real Estate has 23 Level 2 charging stations in Toronto, which
they offer as a free amenity to their shoppers and tenants. Ted
Willcocks, global head of asset management, said a few years ago, they
started seeing more Priuses in parking lots and demand from other tenants.
The chargers are usually in use, he said, and Manulife expects to expand
its charging outlets in the coming years. To them, the
$10,000-per-station installation fee and minimal hydro payments seem
like a fair trade-off for happy customers.
Meanwhile, Oxford Properties, a major landlord in the country, has 130
charging stations across Canada with 90 in the GTA, with seven chargers
alone in big complexes such as the TD Canada Trust Tower. They began
their EV program four years ago to anticipate customer needs and “to
inspire people to do the right thing,” said Andrew McAllan, the senior
vice-president of Oxford’s real estate management.
The average cost of each charging station is pegged between $12,000 to
$15,000, which includes maintenance and a year of free hydro. Otherwise,
the hydro bill comes in at roughly $2,000 a year per charging station.
The fees for the drivers are “modest” at $1 to $2 per hour for a Level 3
charge. More Level 2 chargers tend to be free.
Oxford is expecting to double its portfolio of chargers in the next five
years, McAllan said.
“In a 24-hour period, we’ll get three cars per station, on average,” he
said. “We turn them over using the valet. So that’s an increase of 300%
over the 70% three years ago. There was a time when 8 a.m., there would
be empty electric vehicle stalls. Now, at 7:30 a.m., they’re full.”
-Jenny Yuen
Ontario’s EVCO program
The issue: The Ministry of Transportation’s Electric Vehicle Chargers
Ontario program. The government poured $20 million to build and connect
a network of electric vehicle chargers throughout the province to
encourage drivers to buy more electric vehicles. The first 500 were
supposed to be completed last March 31. Koben Systems Inc., the largest
contractor that received more than half the funding, has failed to
delivered.
What’s happened: KSI was supposed to install, oversee and maintain 337
chargers by that deadline, but to date has only completed 55% of its
promise. Of the ones that have been built, users complain the software
is outdated, the machines are broken and overpriced and the company has
poor customer service.
Other complaints: The province decided to direct 55% of the EVCO
chargers within the GTA and only 45% outside, without the data to prove
more downtown Toronto chargers were even necessary. Advocates complain
there are blackout zones in rural areas and when driving along highway
routes to get from point A to B.