Electric charging stations to be added along Highway 20
Quebec expands its network of public charging stations
Electric-car owners will be able to drive past Rimouski from Montreal without fear of running out of battery power.
By the end of the year, additional charging stations will be added to Highway 20, allowing drivers to recharge along a 570-kilometre route ending in Mont-Joli.
Premier Philippe Couillard made the announcement during a news conference Monday at the Electric Car Symposium, an important gathering of the international electric-vehicle industry, being held this year in Montreal.
"We see today that electric transport is not a fiction, it's a reality," Couillard said.
Double double and charge it up
There are already a series of charging stations along Highway 20 run by Electric Circuit, a public charging network partnered with Hydro-Québec.
The new charging stations come as a result of deals with restaurants along the highway, including La Belle Québécoise in Daveluyville and Tim Hortons in Laurier Station.
A second-phase will feature the construction of fast-charge stations, which can dramatically reduce the amount of time required to top up a battery.
Car owners will need an Electric Circuit membership card to recharge their vehicles. Electric Circuit charges a $2.50 flat fee for topping up at its 240-volt stations (or at a $1 hourly rate in Montreal).
Charging at fast-charge, or 400-volt stations, costs $10 per hour. According to CAA, a 480-volt station can top up 80 per cent of a battery in as little as 20 minutes.
Infrastructure in place
Couillard said having a charging circuit in place is a necessary element in encouraging more Quebecers to buy electric vehicles.
"Quebecers are receptive to the message and taking action by buying electric cars," Couillard said, noting that sales of electric vehicles are on the rise in Quebec.
"But that to continue, incentives have to be present."
The Quebec government announced earlier this month that it wants 15.5 per cent of all vehicles sold in the province to be electric or low-emission by 2025.
But as industry observers have pointed out, few drivers will be motivated to switch to electric without a reliable network where they can charge their vehicles.
"To get that infrastructure in place now is going to be critical," Brian Millar, a spokesman for Plug'nDrive, an advocacy organization for electric vehicles, told CBC News recently.
"Otherwise, we will wake up one day and realize 'Oh darn, we don't have any electrical vehicle infrastructure."
Last October, Quebec promised to spend $420 million over the next five years on its new vehicle-electrification plan.
The plan includes installing 785 public-access charging stations and 60 or so quick-charging stations. It will also ask businesses to install charging units for employees.
