Free DC charging

electriceddy

Moderator
Staff member
"Parkland Corporation has launched their electric vehicle (EV) charging network, opening their first three locations in British Columbia this month. The EV chargers are located at On The Run convenience stores at Chevron gas stations.
The first charging station opened earlier this month in Sidney (2260 Beacon Ave), just north of Victoria. That was followed by the second location opening in the interior of the province in Penticton (697 Eckhardt Ave W) on October 20 and their third station opening in Victoria (3939 Gordon Head Rd) last week.
Each station features battery-integrated ultra-fast EV chargers from FreeWire, offering both CHAdeMO (100kW) and CCS connectors (150kW). With integrated battery storage Parkland will be able to lower their peak demand charges by drawing and storing electricity from the grid during off-peak times.
To celebrate the opening of the network, plugging in and charging your EV is free for a limited time. To take advantage you have to download the Journie Rewards app (iOS App Store, Google Play Store) and become a Journie member (free to join).
when the promotion ends, the company will implement a per kWh billing system, instead of billing EV owners by the length of time they are plugged in."
Sidney-Day-1-Charger-scaled.jpg

DC Boost Charger (freewiretech.com)
Specs

GENERAL
160 kWh integrated lithium-ion battery

CCS1 / CCS2 and CHAdeMO connectors

Simultaneous fast charging

24″ touchscreen

MET listed

CE and UKCA mark

OCPP compliant


INPUT
Up to 27 kW

3-phase 208/400 V, or split-phase 240 V

OUTPUT
CCS: 150 kW

CHAdeMO: 100 kW

Combined: charge two vehicles simultaneously at up to 75 kW each


DC/DC POWER CONVERSION
High power efficiency

Silicon-carbide (SiC) switching technology
Boost-Charger-150-More-Power.jpg

:)
Note the low input: voltages including common 3 phase 208 or 120/240 single phase up to 27kW max (probably utilizing 3 phase 400V input) using integrated battery technology. Reduction in installation and charging costs to the owners.
I would have preferred an available RFID card, but for those who have a smartphone, this is encouraging. Wonder what the rates will be per kWh (after the promo ends).
Source:
Parkland launches EV charging network at Chevron gas stations, offers free charging for a limited time - Drive Tesla (driveteslacanada.ca)
 
Last edited:
Thought I would update this thread with this Canadian list provided by Driving.ca of which automakers offer free public charging when purchasing their EVs (also - those who don't). Lots of info from U.S., but this one is strictly Canada related.
Spoiler:
"“We do not yet have a partnership in place to offer free charging to customers, but it’s something we’re studying,” explained Jennifer McCarthy, Hyundai’s National PR Manager. This is in contrast to Hyundai USA automaker offering two years of free charging at Electrify America locations."
 
"Parkland Corporation has launched their electric vehicle (EV) charging network, opening their first three locations in British Columbia this month. The EV chargers are located at On The Run convenience stores at Chevron gas stations.
The first charging station opened earlier this month in Sidney (2260 Beacon Ave), just north of Victoria. That was followed by the second location opening in the interior of the province in Penticton (697 Eckhardt Ave W) on October 20 and their third station opening in Victoria (3939 Gordon Head Rd) last week.
Each station features battery-integrated ultra-fast EV chargers from FreeWire, offering both CHAdeMO (100kW) and CCS connectors (150kW). With integrated battery storage Parkland will be able to lower their peak demand charges by drawing and storing electricity from the grid during off-peak times.
To celebrate the opening of the network, plugging in and charging your EV is free for a limited time. To take advantage you have to download the Journie Rewards app (iOS App Store, Google Play Store) and become a Journie member (free to join).
when the promotion ends, the company will implement a per kWh billing system, instead of billing EV owners by the length of time they are plugged in."
Sidney-Day-1-Charger-scaled.jpg

DC Boost Charger (freewiretech.com)
Specs

GENERAL
160 kWh integrated lithium-ion battery

CCS1 / CCS2 and CHAdeMO connectors

Simultaneous fast charging

24″ touchscreen

MET listed

CE and UKCA mark

OCPP compliant


INPUT
Up to 27 kW

3-phase 208/400 V, or split-phase 240 V

OUTPUT
CCS: 150 kW

CHAdeMO: 100 kW

Combined: charge two vehicles simultaneously at up to 75 kW each


DC/DC POWER CONVERSION
High power efficiency

Silicon-carbide (SiC) switching technology
Boost-Charger-150-More-Power.jpg

:)
Note the low input: voltages including common 3 phase 208 or 120/240 single phase up to 27kW max (probably utilizing 3 phase 400V input) using integrated battery technology. Reduction in installation and charging costs to the owners.
I would have preferred an available RFID card, but for those who have a smartphone, this is encouraging. Wonder what the rates will be per kWh (after the promo ends).
Source:
Parkland launches EV charging network at Chevron gas stations, offers free charging for a limited time - Drive Tesla (driveteslacanada.ca)
FhTgVuCaAAAme9d
:)
 
I have been using the charger located at the Chevron in Penticton and noticed that the DC output has been throttled down to 50 KW during the free introduction. Not that I am complaining because the FLO charger 2 blocks away costs $0.33/minute at their 50 KW charger


Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs
 
I have been using the charger located at the Chevron in Penticton and noticed that the DC output has been throttled down to 50 KW during the free introduction. Not that I am complaining because the FLO charger 2 blocks away costs $0.33/minute at their 50 KW charger


Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs
Glad to hear it works, I assume you do need the app(smartphone) to operate, or can you just pull up, plug in and charge? I do not own a cellphone, so I was contemplating applying for the Journie rewards card and use that to scan, if it works that way.
 
Last edited:
I just tried the one in Sidney since I was down to the airport anyway. Price was right ;-). But speed was slow. Started at 31kw but quickly went to 14kw and stayed there. If those are the final speeds, good thing they won’t charge by the minute.
Oh, and I used the app to charge. Worked fine.
 
I just tried the one in Sidney since I was down to the airport anyway. Price was right ;-). But speed was slow. Started at 31kw but quickly went to 14kw and stayed there. If those are the final speeds, good thing they won’t charge by the minute.
Oh, and I used the app to charge. Worked fine.
Same question as above, I ordered the Journie rewards card, but do I need the phone app (I have no phone) as well, or can you just scan the rewards card?
I know you mentioned using the "app", but just curious what is offered for those without phones;)
 
"Parkland Corporation has launched their electric vehicle (EV) charging network, opening their first three locations in British Columbia this month. The EV chargers are located at On The Run convenience stores at Chevron gas stations.
The first charging station opened earlier this month in Sidney (2260 Beacon Ave), just north of Victoria. That was followed by the second location opening in the interior of the province in Penticton (697 Eckhardt Ave W) on October 20 and their third station opening in Victoria (3939 Gordon Head Rd) last week.
Each station features battery-integrated ultra-fast EV chargers from FreeWire, offering both CHAdeMO (100kW) and CCS connectors (150kW). With integrated battery storage Parkland will be able to lower their peak demand charges by drawing and storing electricity from the grid during off-peak times.
To celebrate the opening of the network, plugging in and charging your EV is free for a limited time. To take advantage you have to download the Journie Rewards app (iOS App Store, Google Play Store) and become a Journie member (free to join).
when the promotion ends, the company will implement a per kWh billing system, instead of billing EV owners by the length of time they are plugged in."
Sidney-Day-1-Charger-scaled.jpg

DC Boost Charger (freewiretech.com)
Specs

GENERAL
160 kWh integrated lithium-ion battery

CCS1 / CCS2 and CHAdeMO connectors

Simultaneous fast charging

24″ touchscreen

MET listed

CE and UKCA mark

OCPP compliant


INPUT
Up to 27 kW

3-phase 208/400 V, or split-phase 240 V

OUTPUT
CCS: 150 kW

CHAdeMO: 100 kW

Combined: charge two vehicles simultaneously at up to 75 kW each


DC/DC POWER CONVERSION
High power efficiency

Silicon-carbide (SiC) switching technology
Boost-Charger-150-More-Power.jpg

:)
Note the low input: voltages including common 3 phase 208 or 120/240 single phase up to 27kW max (probably utilizing 3 phase 400V input) using integrated battery technology. Reduction in installation and charging costs to the owners.
I would have preferred an available RFID card, but for those who have a smartphone, this is encouraging. Wonder what the rates will be per kWh (after the promo ends).
Source:
Parkland launches EV charging network at Chevron gas stations, offers free charging for a limited time - Drive Tesla (driveteslacanada.ca)

"Parkland Corp. is doubling the size of its previously announced electric vehicle charging network with a focus on British Columbia, which leads the country in EV adoption.

70c8fc80

The Calgary-based fuel retailer said Friday it will now install 50 ultra-fast charging stations on highways and in major destinations from Vancouver Island to Calgary, instead of the previously announced 25.
Parkland expects to complete its initial 25 charging locations by year-end, with the following 25 locations to be completed in early 2024.":)
 
That’s excellent news! Good for them. I look forward to giving them some business.

Although I think the route to Edmonton could use more chargers than the one to Calgary..
 
Have used the Princeton Chevron On the Run (Parkland) a couple of times on trips to Vancouver. There are 3 CCS plugs. Our Kona charges at about 40kw. Can't complain as it is still free. ICE vehicles can be a bit of a problem at this location.
 
We've just tried the new "Journey" charge station in Delta for our 2021 Kona, and couldn't get over 53kW max charge even though we are rated at 77kW.
I suspect that the Kona's crippled charge algorithm is to blame for the this. The best we've even done is 67kW on a BC Hydro 100kWh charger

Our battery was warm and it had been over an hour since the charger had last been used.
 
And now for this surprising news from the FreeWire manufacture:
https://www.bizjournals.com/sanfran...technologies-ev-chargers-layoff-electric.html
Sorry to see them go:(
While it is sad to see people loosing their jobs, we have used these "On the Go" chargers on our trips to Vancouver & back. While free is always nice, and we have had some good charging experience with On the Go, on weekends, when the chargers are busy, they are often slow or out of service while the batteries refresh (I think). The last 2 trips we have had to go to BCH in Princeton and Electrify Canada in Hope, because they are limited or out of service because of the battery charge. ( I believe) It is a shame, as Hope especially has a fantastic charging set up, reminiscent of a Tesla site.
 
While it is sad to see people loosing their jobs, we have used these "On the Go" chargers on our trips to Vancouver & back. While free is always nice, and we have had some good charging experience with On the Go, on weekends, when the chargers are busy, they are often slow or out of service while the batteries refresh (I think). The last 2 trips we have had to go to BCH in Princeton and Electrify Canada in Hope, because they are limited or out of service because of the battery charge. ( I believe) It is a shame, as Hope especially has a fantastic charging set up, reminiscent of a Tesla site.
So what is going to happen to all these On the Run chargers at the Chevron stations?
 
I received a message from On the Run about two weeks ago saying they will be charging 55 cents a kwh for electricity. That price is about half what it would cost for gasoline in average car. I haven't been there to see if it was implemented, but I wonder what will happen now, maybe back to free!!!!
 
Free 400 kW (also 180 kW) for limited time at new location - 120 St Delta
"On The Run is using EV charging hardware provided by ABB Group (the A400 units at 400 kW and the Terra 184 units at 180 kW)."
Plugshare link here.
For all those fast charging EVs in lower mainland, or just passing thru...enjoy:)
 
Last edited:
There used to be several free DC fast chargers (usually 50kw chargers) in Central Florida but they are either gone, under repair or went pay. Only free charging found around here is Level 2.
 
Back
Top