Tesla had updated its Supercharger pricing structure in Canada again, this time adding off-peak rates at select Superchargers, while at the same time changing prices. The change comes just a few weeks after Tesla finally switched to kWh billing in Canada.
Ever since Tesla built its first Supercharger station in Canada in Squamish, BC in 2014, owners had been paying for their charging sessions for the amount of time they were plugged in. That changed earlier this month when Tesla switched to billing customers for the amount of energy they actually consumed from the Supercharger station, referred to as kWh billing, with most Superchargers at around $0.50 per kWh.
With the change we speculated that Tesla would also soon add off-peak rates, much like they do in the US, and on Wednesday the automaker did just that. Interestingly however, the off-peak rates are only at select Superchargers in two provinces.
Tesla first notified owners of the change through an email sent on Wednesday morning, saying “charging prices and off-peak hours will change at select Superchargers.” Based on a review of Superchargers across the country by Drive Tesla, off-peak hours appears to have only been implemented at Superchargers in BC and Ontario, and not even at all stations in those provinces.
In BC, we were able to find off-peak hours at the Richmond Supercharger on Steveston Hwy, which now has rates as low as $0.10 during the off-peak hours between 12:00am and 4:00am, increasing to $0.27 between 4:00am and 2:00pm, and the highest rate of $0.34 during the peak hours of 2:00pm to 12:00am. The Coquitlam Supercharger on Lougheed Hwy has also switched, but this station has four peak and off-peak periods with rates ranging from $0.13 to $0.36.
In Ontario the prices are considerably higher during peak hours. For example at the Etobicoke Supercharger owners will now be paying $0.60 per kWh between 12:00pm and 8:00pm, up from the previous rate under $0.50. Meanwhile the lowest off-peak rate is $0.29 between 12:00am and 4:00am. It is a similar story in Mississauga, where the peak rate is $0.58 and the lowest off-peak rate is $0.37.
This change to add off-peak hours also comes just one day after Tesla added the first Magic Dock in Canada. On Tuesday the Deep River Supercharger in Ontario was retrofitted with the built-in CCS adapter, but the station has not yet gone live to owners of non-Tesla electric vehicles (EVs.)
