Electric Advantage

EV charging infrastructure projects – maximize value to owners. Benefit from professional, independent, expert advice.

• Where to start? Get a strategy – have an assessment of the opportunities for your building and start the process with the right information to take to your stakeholders.
• Getting to Yes. Bringing together the configuration and plan to obtain owner/board approval. Ensure your project configuration is future proofed, ready for a future where all cars and trucks have electric drives. Know the budget and operating cash flow parameters before you start.
  • Review of contractor proposals and reports
  • Assessment of building/resident/fleet needs
  • Project budget and business case validation
  • Strata surveys, communications, information sessions, and SGM/AGM support
  • Strata By-laws and rules formulation for EV charging operations
  • Cost effective operations plan and strategies
• Funding support – Federal NRCan ZEVIP grant writing, maximizing all available grants, top-ups and incentives
• Project management including RFP administration to make sure your project goes to plan and within budget
• Carbon Credits – earn clean fuel credits for your EV Charging. Through our affiliate company, Carbex, we specialize in carbon credits from EV charging and provide a comprehensive carbon credit exchange services.

Electric vehicle adoption is taking off. The race for enabling EV charging where you reside is well underway.  With more than 50% of the population in urban centres living in condominiums and rental apartments retrofitting for EV charging infrastructure is more important than ever. The convenience of charging at your residence, or at your workplace is fundamental to the electric car, and one of the key advantages of driving electric. 

Having efficient billing, energy and carbon credit management systems for MURBs and other workplaces is key. As we move to a distributed electricity grid the relationships between all stakeholders becomes more challenging. Making sure you are ready for this future is important.

Electric Advantage was created to help this transition, to help property owners navigate the process of formulating an EV charging infrastructure, maximize incentives and provide the analysis of information to enable decision makers to make informed decisions.

We also provide on-going support services that EV charging infrastructure requires, and interestingly, where electrification in general will take us. Carbon credits play an important part of the equation, and here too we offer services to bring these cash flows to your organization.

We see a bright future where EV charging is just the start of significant change for the benefit of electricity consumers everywhere.

Financial incentives are currently available to British Columbia multi-unit residential buildings (MURBs) but are increasingly difficult to access with the number of stratas, rental buildings, workplaces, businesses and fleets all competing for these limited resources.

“EV Ready” CleanBC rebates with BC Hydro were reinstated October 31st, 2023 and are foundational funding to assist with your project. These rebates are first come first serve and there is no guarantee they will last into the future.

The NRCan ZEV Infrastructure Program currently enables up to 50% project cost recovery.  Highly sought after, and stackable with CleanBC funding to 75%.

The next round of direct intake funding (projects requesting more than $100K of assistance) of ZEVIP is closed. No next opening date has been announced. This funding program ends in 2027 and any future opening will likely be the last for this program.

Results: Of our 2022 NRCan ZEVIP direct intake grant applications on behalf of our clients, we were successful in 2 of 3 applications, with the 3rd, being approved for funding subject to the first successful candidates not taking up the budgeted funds. We are awaiting the results of the 2024 NRCan ZEVIP direct intake period which closed September 19th, 2024.

We can help you move your project along quickly. In order to complete an application funding must be approved which means your strata’s EV charging project needs to be configured, costed and approved by owners with a 50% majority at an SGM / AGM before the application period closing date. Typically the open application periods are within a three month window.

Of our active involvement with stratas owners (prior to the 75% resolution approval requirement being dropped to 50% with Bill 22 on May 11, 2023) we achieved success with every client we worked with with approval rates ranging from 84-97%.

Stratas, MURBs and workplaces across Canada can now benefit from selling carbon credits – a new income stream for your building.

We offer services to ensure a well thought out project strategy and configuration to maximize government grants, and the future versatility of your project. We review and assess electrical contractor proposals. We build the business case, communications and information sessions for your stakeholders to move your project forward.

John has been active in the EV movement as an advocate, public speaker, consultant and entrepreneur. Through his involvement with the Vancouver Electric Vehicle Association (VEVA) he contributed to many progressive EV policies that are in place today in British Columbia. They include lobbying the City of Vancouver for minimum parking stall wiring which resulted in the City’s ground breaking 2009 By-law to provide electrification of 20% of parking stalls for all new condos commissioned after April 1, 2011. (which subsequently was bumped to 100% in 2018 for all new buildings) The origins of the EV Ready and EV Infrastructure programs as recommended to the government by VEVA are now in place through CleanBC and the BC Government. In 2021 as VEVA President he also advocated for changes within the BC Low Carbon Fuel Standard Regulations to enable MURBs to earn carbon credits on the EV charging infrastructure they build and maintain.

Combined, these policies make British Columbia a world leader in EV charging infrastructure initiatives for both new and legacy buildings.

As a business professional, he combines both his expert knowledge on electric vehicles with financial and data analysis skills to form sound strategies to optimize EV infrastructure projects. Strata condominiums, rental property owners, social housing, workplaces, hospitality properties can all benefit from providing EV charging to their stakeholders.

In 2023 John founded Carbex Carbon Credit Exchange Corp with a regulatory law firm partner to provide services to help small businesses and housing associations participate in carbon credit generation and monetization.