Re: “Sticker shock stalls electric drive,” March 17.

The story came as no surprise to those of us who voiced concerns during the pre- and post-implementation phases of the Solar Colwood debacle and during the civic election.

Those who have sought to portray Colwood as the greenest town in “Oz” should fess up. Those who were critical of a lack of due process at council and the outlandish projections used in securing the $3.9-million federal Solar Colwood grant have been proven correct.

Indeed, I underestimated, figuratively speaking, that a green witch would fly in on her broom and put a new spell over the current administration, causing them to embrace rather than abandon this fiasco. By any corporate standards, 37 solar hot-water heaters and 75 ductless heat pumps out of a projected 1,000 does not equal success. As Bill Cleverley’s article aptly notes, “the program seems to be languishing due to a lack of interest.”

Further evidence of this are lighted highway signs on Sooke Road begging Colwood citizens to sign up. And now we learn the electric-vehicle charging stations still aren’t working over three weeks after the sticker issue came to light. If it’s just a sticker, why is it taking so long? Further, why did the city contractors install them against the B.C. electrical code in the first place, and who is in charge of this project?

As with all local governments, when dogma and pie in the sky prevail, the citizens of “Oz,” even the few who own electric cars, suffer.

Ernest Robertson

Victoria

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