By Patrick Burles - (@PatrickBurles on Twitter)

Interest growing in car-charging station

Oct 11, 2016 | 12:05 PM

LETHBRIDGE – A growing focus on environmental sustainability has prompted a Western Canadian business to provide car charging stations at their retail outlets, including the one in Lethbridge.

Peavey Mart is one of only three locations in our city where you can currently charge a vehicle.

“About four years ago [Peavey Mart] teamed up with a company out of Saskatchewan called Sun Country to set up electric charging stations at all of our stores,” explained Lethbridge store manager, Drew Gamble. “It’s something that’s taken a while to get going, but I think we are up to almost 100-per cent with all Peavey stores.”

Gamble noted that the local store was one of the first in the chain to receive a charging station, and that they have noticed an increase in usage since it was installed.

“We find that it’s growing all the time, we have cars, at least twice a week I would say, charging at our station here. We were lucky to get maybe one a month, and now we’re probably up to about two, three, maybe even up to six or seven a week,” Gamble said.

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A full charge, which Gamble noted can take up to four hours, is free as Peavey Mart picks up the cost of electricity for it.

He stated that it’s part of their overall goal of becoming a ‘greener’ company.

“We’ve partnered up with Bullfrog Power to lower our carbon footprint, as well as company wide we were part of the sponsorship group that put in the solar park in Vulcan,” said Gamble. “It’s something that we’re trying to do in Lethbridge, the southern Alberta area, and throughout Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and B.C.”