The Electric Circuit passes the 1,000-registration mark

The founding partners of the Electric Circuit—Les Rôtisseries St-Hubert, RONA, METRO, the Agence métropolitaine de transport (AMT) and Hydro-Québec—are proud to announce that the Electric Circuit, the largest public charging network in Québec, now has over 1,000 registered participants. More specifically, 1,041 customers now have an Electric Circuit card, which means they can travel worry-free, knowing they can top up their batteries at one of the network’s charging stations if necessary.

“We are very pleased to see that over 1,000 owners of plug-in electric and hybrid electric vehicles have an Electric Circuit card, which gives them access to the largest public charging network in Québec,” said Pierre-Luc Desgagné, Vice President – Public and Government Affairs at Hydro-Québec, on behalf of the Electric Circuit's founding partners. Almost 650 charges were performed last month—five times more than at the same time last year. The public charging infrastructure plays a key role in the electrification of private transportation, and the popularity of the Electric Circuit among PEV owners is a clear indication of its usefulness.”

Launched in 2012, the Electric Circuit was Canada’s first public charging network. Today, no other network offers such extensive coverage in Québec, with nearly 200 charging stations in service in 13 regions: Montréal, the city of Québec, Laval, Montérégie, Estrie, Laurentides, Lanaudière, Bas-Saint-Laurent, Gaspésie, Centre-du-Québec, Chaudière-Appalaches, Outaouais and Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean. Electric Circuit representatives are actively working to extend the network in Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, Gaspésie and Mauricie. For that purpose, meetings have been planned for the coming weeks with elected officials and business people, especially in Mauricie. The current objective is to have more than 250 charging stations in service by the end of the year.

“We are negotiating with potential partners in all regions that would like to join Québec’s public charging system. Our network has been in operation for over a year and now has over 40 well-known partners, including Les Rôtisseries Saint-Hubert, Discount, a number of hotels such as Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, universities and 17 Québec municipalities,” noted Mr. Desgagné.

Since last April, the Electric Circuit charging stations deployed have been entirely designed and manufactured in Québec by AddÉnergie Technologies, a company based in the city of Québec. AddÉnergie Technologies won the Electric Circuit's second tender call to supply the network’s charging stations. Several bidders had responded to the tender call put out by Hydro-Québec. The Québec product stood out during the strict evaluation process based on the robustness of the charging stations, bid price, user-friendliness and after-sales service.

“We can be proud of what's being done in Québec in terms of innovation because our supplier’s charging stations are highly competitive and well suited to our climate,” noted Mr. Desgagné.

The Electric Circuit

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

The Electric Circuit is the largest public charging network in Québec with nearly 200 charging stations (240 V) currently in service in parking lots of the AMT, as well as RONA stores, Metro grocery stores and St-Hubert restaurants throughout Québec. Since its launch in March 2012, 46 private and institutional partners have joined the Electric Circuit. It will continue to expand in order to offer greater geographical coverage and serve more EV drivers in many regions of Québec.

While most electric vehicle charging is done at home and at work, the public charging infrastructure allows EV drivers to travel worry-free, knowing they can top up their batteries on the road if necessary. Electric Circuit users 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, theelectriccircuit.com, is updated as new stations are installed or commissioned.

For information:

Nathalie Vachon
Hydro-Québec, for the Electric Circuit
514 289-2441
vachon.nathalie@hydro.qc.ca