For two years Tesla and electric vehicle (EV) associations across Canada have been lobbying the federal government for fairer EV charging standards.
This is because EV charging network providers in Canada are only allowed to bill customers based on the amount of time they are plugged in, and not based on the amount of energy they actually consume.
This obviously isn’t fair, as the amount of energy that goes into your EV can vary from one day to the next. It can even vary on the same day, and can be affected by things like temperature, state of charge, and the type of EV you drive.
After a lengthy consultation process, Measurement Canada will soon allow operators of DC fast chargers, including Tesla and their Supercharger network, to enable per kWh billing at their stations.
According to a letter obtained by Drive Tesla from Diane Allen, President of Measurement Canada, the federal government plans to allow for kWh billing at DC fast charging stations already in the marketplace before the end of 2022.
What this will look like will be driven by further consultations by Measurement Canada that will begin this fall to determine the framework for kWh billing. This will allow for a temporary solution to be instituted before the end of the year while Measurement Canada continues to consult with international authorities to develop permanent technical regulations for kwh billing.
One of the concerns Tesla had with implementing kWh billing in Canada is the requirements of the Electricity and Gas Inspection Act (EGIA), which outlines the requirements for measuring devices to establish the amount to charge a customer. Tesla says these utility grade meters would unnecessarily increase infrastructure costs.
Based on the wording used in the letter, it appears as though Measurement Canada will be treating EV charging stations already built differently from those that will be built in the future, indicating a possibly less expensive way for Tesla to enable kWh billing at their existing stations.
