Creating an "electric route" linking Montréal and the regions of Montérégie and EstrieUniversité de Sherbrooke joins The Electric Circuit

The founding partners of The Electric Circuit–Les Rôtisseries St-Hubert, RONA, METRO, the Agence métropolitaine de transport (AMT) and Hydro-Québec–are pleased to announce the signing of a partnership agreement with the Université de Sherbrooke to roll-out five new public charging stations for electric vehicles.

These public charging stations will be installed in the coming weeks to encourage drivers to opt for plug-in electric vehicles, while meeting the university's vehicle charging needs at night. The university will install three charging stations in Sherbrooke–one at the main campus, one at the health campus and one at the Parc Innovation–, one in Bromont, at the new MiQro Innovation Collaborative Centre (C2MI), as well as one at its Longueuil campus, on Montréal’s south shore. These charging stations will create an electric route between Montréal and the Montérégie and Estrie regions.

For the Université de Sherbrooke, joining The Electric Circuit contributes to "maintaining the university at the cutting edge of innovation in sustainable mobility, and is in line with the sustainable development orientations of the university's strategic plan, Réussir 2010-2015," said Professor Alain Webster, Vice-President of Sustainable Development and Government Relations. This move is also great news for the community, as 90 % of students and employees are in favor of installing charging stations and purchasing more electric vehicles, based on the recent survey about sustainable mobility strategies. In addition, this orientation complements the research development strategy on transportation electrification, an important research vector, especially at the faculty of engineering.

"We are delighted with the arrival of the Université de Sherbrooke as a new member of The Electric Circuit," said Pierre-Luc Desgagné, Hydro-Québec’s Senior Director – Strategic Planning, on behalf of The Electric Circuit’s founding partners. "This entry into the Estrie region allows us to increase our service offering and extend it to the three points of the Montréal-Québec-Sherbrooke triangle, cities that form an important geographic and economic area in Québec."

The Electric Circuit

The Electric Circuit is a major milestone in the rollout of the charging infrastructure needed to support the arrival of plug-in electric vehicles in Québec.

Nearly 80 240-volt Electric Circuit stations are already available in parking lots of the AMT, as well as those of many RONA hardware stores, Metro grocery stores and St-Hubert Restaurants in the greater Montréal and Québec areas. More than 150 charging stations will be available in Québec by the end of 2012. The cost of using them, excluding parking fees in some cases, is $2.50 per charge, no matter how long it takes. The ongoing roll-out of 240-V and even faster 400-V charging stations will expand as more electric vehicles hit Québec roads.

Electric vehicle owners do most of their charging at home and at work, but this public charging infrastructure allows drivers to travel worry free, knowing they can top up their batteries on the road. Users of the public charging network also have access to a 24/7 telephone help line run by CAA-Québec as well as a charging station locator service. The Electric Circuit Web site, www.theelectriccircuit.com, is updated as new stations are deployed.