EV Readiness | City of Victoria

The electric vehicle (EV) market is growing rapidly. One of the biggest factors in an individual’s decision to buy an EV is the availability of a charging station at home.

Residential and commercial developments in Victoria must have energized electrical outlets installed at the time of construction. These outlets must be capable of charging an electric vehicle (EV) when a charging station is installed in the future.

The use of EVs instead of internal combustion engine vehicles helps improve air quality, fight climate change, reduce noise and support green economic development. The City's Climate Leadership Plan, Official Community Plan and GoVictoria support policies that encourage the adoption of EVs as one strategy to reduce the 40 per cent of community emissions associated with on-road transportation.

In July 2020, the City of Victoria amended the Zoning Bylaw [PDF/3MB] and Zoning Regulation Bylaw [PDF/22.1MB] to require EV charging infrastructure in all new residential developments and some commercial developments, with changes that came into effect on October 1, 2020. See the Technical Bulletin [PDF/112KB], or read the following sections for more information.

Requirements for New Residential Developments

Requirements for New Commercial Developments

Five percent of parking spaces in new commercial developments over a certain threshold must each have an energised electrical outlet installed. This outlet must be capable of providing Level 2 (208 to 240 volts) charging for an electric vehicle.

Number of vehicle parking spaces	Number of outlets required
Less than 10	n/a
10–14	One outlet
Over 15	Two outlets, or five percent of the total number of required vehicle parking spaces, whichever is greater

Technical Requirements

all energised electric vehicle outlets must provide, at a minimum, a Level 2 electric charging level as defined by Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) International’s J1772 standard
energised electric vehicle outlets must be labelled for their intended use — for electric vehicle charging only
an energised electric vehicle outlet must be assigned to an individual vehicle parking stall and must be located no further than one metre from that stall
no more than one energised electric vehicle outlet may be assigned to an individual vehicle parking stall

The second and third requirements do not apply to single-family dwellings, two-family dwellings, or semi-attached dwellings.

Performance Requirements for Electric Vehicle Energy Management Systems

An electric vehicle management system is what controls EV supply equipment loads through the process of connecting, disconnecting, increasing or reducing electric power to the loads. These technologies enable the power drawn to be shared or prioritised between chargers, reducing peak power demand and making efficient use of electrical capacity.

EV energy management systems must meet a baseline performance standard of at least 12 kilowatt hours per EV over an eight-hour period when all EVs are charging simultaneously. Greater allowable levels of sharing are appropriate beyond 80 amp, given the greater diversity of electrical loads possible at these higher amperages.

Circuit breaker amperage	Maximum number of EVs
20	1
30	2
40	4
50	5
60	6
70	7
80	8
90	10
100	11
125	14

More Information

For more information about EVs, including technology, vehicles and incentives, visit PlugIn BC.

The City of Richmond and BC Hydro commissioned a 66-page report that profiles a variety of EV energy management system configurations, including commentary on their benefits, limitations, application and other considerations.

For information about managing EV charging infrastructure in residential strata buildings, visit Metro Vancouver’s EV Strata Condo page.