Spences Bridge Car Charging Station Controversy

In this follow up interview with Thompson Nicola regional district Director Steven Rice, Steven shares new developments in the ongoing controversy surrounding the Spences Bridge Electric car Charging Station.

In 2015 the SBID and the Thompson-Nicola Regional District (TNRD) entered into a five-year lease agreement for a piece of land owned by the SBID adjacent to the fire hall. BC Hydro agreed to pay $1 per year in order to site the fast-charging station there.

Last year BC Hydro offered the SBID $1 a year for a further 10-year lease of the site, with the agreement made directly between them and the Improvement District. However, the three-member board of trustees — Ross Figley, Cheryl Klyne, and chair Michael Jefferson — counter-offered, saying they wanted BC Hydro to pay the SBID $15 per day ($5,475 per year) in order to keep the station where it is. They also said that BC Hydro needed to provide a washroom facility at the site and pave the area surrounding the station.

BC Hydro has, to date, rejected that offer, saying it is not part of their business model for EV charging stations. At its regular meeting on Dec. 17, 2020 the board of the TNRD voted to approve an agreement that would see the TNRD cease to be a partner in the agreement. However, TNRD Area “I” director Steve Rice offered funding for the construction of a washroom adjacent to the site and legal services for the vetting of a contract between BC Hydro and the SBID, as well as the services of a local volunteer organization to maintain the site.

Jefferson maintains, however, that the TNRD should have “nothing to do” with the situation, and has indicated that the trustees do not find Rice’s offer acceptable. He also says that according to its letters patent, the SBID cannot legally host the site.

The main date for all of this was January 31 2021, which came and went with no word from Mr. Jefferson, since then Mr. Rice has extended a deal with BC Hydro and the TNRD to add most of the demands that Mr. Jefferson has asked for, so far with no response. Rice says "It is frustrating because the person that is trying to take this away doesn't even live in the town, and was voted in by acclimation".