Electric cars owners wonder if New Brunswick has enough chargers

It's estimated that nearlyhalf a million people havepre-orderedthe latest electric promisefromcar maker Tesla:A $35,000 U.S. all-electriccar able to cover more than 300 kilometres per charge.

Some of those pre-orders have come from NewBrunswickerswho are curious about how their shift to all-electric will play out in a province where chargestations arestill a rarity.

"I was one of the crazy ones that didn't even see what it would look like before I put $1,000down," said DavidAlston,who pre-ordered aTesla Model 3 the day the option was posted online.

"It's this idea of being able to move and getting off the carbon economy, getting away from that kind of fuel that puts carbon in the atmosphere. So for me it's really about being a part of that vision."

The Tesla Model3promisesto never need gas stations, but will insteadrely on charge stations to juice its batteries as it travels far from home.

Alston currently drives a ChevroletVolt, a car that exhausts its limitedelectriccharge before switching to a gasoline engine as a fail-safe.

There are also other vehicles with varying electrical reliancefrom competing companies, such as Nissan and GM,on the horizon.

But none have the buzz, or the pre-order power of more than 400,000behind them, such asthe Tesla Model 3.

"But with an all-electric if you travel far from home, you're going to have to rely on a charging station," said Alston.

Province has 41 stations

The CAA website lists 41 charging stations throughout New Brunswickavailableto charge electric vehicles.

Teslahas their name on seven of those stations through partnerships withmanufacturersand placementsdeals with hotels.

But none of those are the famed Tesla "superchargers,"which are free to use andable to refill a battery in around 20 minutes.

The majority of chargers in New Brunswick are rated level 2, most of which are stillfree to use butrequire threeto fivehours to bringa dead battery back to life.

The closestTeslasuperchargers to New Brunswick arein Augusta,Me.,and just outside of Sherbrooke, Que.

"They've promised to build them around the world," said Alston, aboutTesla'splans to offer a free-to-usenetwork of superchargers.

"The question is, if they'll have them here before a lot of people start owning the cars."

NB Power leads charge

In the meantime, one of the most active builders of level 2 chargers in New Brunswick is the provincialpower company.

NB Power has more than a dozen electric chargers in the province that are free to useand offer the bonus of free parking in urbancentreswhile owners wait to charge up.

"We have been testing charging stations and we've installed sevenpublic charging stations and sixfleet charging stations throughout the province," wrote NB Power spokesperson Marie-AndreeBuldocin an email.

"NB Power is supporting the uptake of electric vehicles in New Brunswick with a plan to have public networked chargers installed in many areas of the province."

NB Power's newestcharge station went online last weekend in Shediac.

"We are focused on developing a charging infrastructure in the province for the benefit of New Brunswick EV owners and those EV drivers visiting the province," wroteBuldoc.

For drivers, such as Alston, he said the issue of adding more chargers is a classic "chicken and egg problem."

"Will we get more chargers as more people drive electric, or will the driverscome first?" he said.

"With the bigger batteriesthe idea isyou'll be able to go a lot farther without having to worry about it."