It's no secret that the future is electric, says Morden City Manager John Scarce, which is why Morden is developing electric vehicle charging stations throughout the city.

"It's been on the list for quite a long time to have an electric vehicle charging station in Morden somewhere," he says. "Electric vehicles are going to be the way of the future for certain."

By 2020 Mercedes is looking to have every model have an electric option, by 2025 Ford will have around 20 electric models.

This project has been discussed a number of times, however, Scarce says due to the Hydro Act they've had to place the project on the back burner. According to section 15.2, under the act "no other person than the corporation can engage in the retail supply of power in Manitoba," meaning no one other entity than MB Hydro can charge for electricity.

To face this head on Morden had a resolution passed with the Association of Manitoba Municipalities (AMM), asking the government to change that section, so the city can install charging stations and begin the retail sale of power.

"Everyone pays for the gas they put in the car," says Scarce. "Even though it's probably a small amount of electricity that will charge the vehicle there are still other infrastructure costs that are associated."

Electric charging stations are only one of the plans Morden has been working on in order to prepare for the future. The city has also announced Morenet, a free wireless internet service to the entire community, one that is estimated to have a population of 15,000 in the next two years.

"In 2020, what is the infrastructure we need to put in today? What are the services... the recreation? When you set visions like that you start thinking about all of these things for what's happing tomorrow, not what's happening yesterday."

Currently, the city is still waiting for legislation to change in order to begin installing charging stations.