The Electric Circuit now offers over 200 public charging stations throughout Québec

The founding partners of the Electric Circuit—Les Rôtisseries St-Hubert, RONA, METRO, the Agence métropolitaine de transport (AMT) and Hydro-Québec—are very pleased to announce that the Electric Circuit is continuing its expansion and that the network now offers more than 200 public charging stations throughout Québec. With its 201 charging stations located in 13 administrative regions, it is the network offering the greatest coverage throughout the territory. Electric vehicles (EV) drivers can travel worry-free, knowing they can top up their batteries at one of the network’s charging stations if necessary.

"Thanks to the continued involvement of our institutional and private partners, the Electric Circuit is expanding and this new milestone confirms its leadership role in Québec," said Pierre-Luc Desgagné, Vice President – Public and Government Affairs at Hydro-Québec, on behalf of the Electric Circuit's partners. "The next step will be to reach 300 charging stations by spring 2014."

Launched in 2012, the Electric Circuit was Canada’s first public charging network. Today, it boasts 201 charging stations 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. The expansion continues, as the Electric Circuit’s representatives are actively working to develop new partnerships to increase our service offer to EV drivers.

"We are pleased to note that the Electric Circuit’s business model continues to attract interest from potential partners," added Mr. Desgagné. "They are contributing to a more economical, more ecological mode of transportation."

Charging Stations made in Québec
Since April 2013, 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.

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 over 200 charging stations (240 V) currently in service in parking lots of the AMT, 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