Montérégie and Montreal will receive nearly 40% of the next fast electric charging stations announced by the government last March, learned The newspaper.
These two regions will have 67 and 69 respectively of the 367 terminals to be installed over two years. These terminals with 100 kilowatts and more can charge a car in an average of 20 to 30 minutes.
Selected projects for public fast charging stations
Click on a region to view details by city
Saint Alexandre de Kamouraska
2
Daveluyville (Sainte Anne du Sault)
2
Saint Germain de Grantham
2
Gaspésie-Iles-de-la-Madeleine
10
Saint Bruno de Montarville
4
Saint Jean sur Richelieu
6
Saint Mathieu de Beloeil
2
Saguenay – Lac Saint Jean
4
SOURCE: Private-sector funding program for setting up public fast charging stations
In fact, according to the Quebec Electric Vehicle Association (AVÉQ), Montérégie has the highest level of electrification of the vehicle fleet.
There are currently just over 1,200 direct current charging stations (DCFC), also known as “fast charging stations”, in the province. Of these, 700 belong to the Hydro-Québec Electric Circuit. The rest is owned by private companies like Tesla.
Last year, Quebec launched a call for private sector projects to increase the number of these fast terminals by 30%. The government is investing $60 million to support businesses.
Accessible to all
Even if these terminals are bought and installed by the private sector, they will all be open to the public, close to businesses such as restaurants, pharmacies, shopping malls or grocery stores.
Above all, they will be compatible with the Electric Circuit. It remains to be seen whether there will be fixed prices, but according to our information we promise “competitive and comparable”.
A total of 81 projects were selected, distributed across 131 locations. All administrative regions will receive them, with the exception of North-du-Québec.
According to our information, the Capitale-Nationale region will have 30 terminals, including 18 for Quebec. The city of Laval, where the electric fleet is also large, receives 22. Among the largest cities in the province, Sherbrooke receives the fewest stations, 4th the entire Saguenay-Lac-Jean region, where they will all be concentrated in Jonquiere.
More in urban areas
Équiterre’s Marc-André Viau points out that Quebec has fewer public charging stations in rural areas than in urban areas. “But we’re still a place in North America where we have one of the greatest concentrations of terminals,” he adds.
Simon Rioux, AVÉQ spokesman, also notes that by 2026, Hydro-Québec’s Electric Circuit will have 2,000 fast charging stations (that’s 1,300 more).
The government has set a target of 1.6 million electric cars by 2030, up from 170,000 now. If progress continues, the target will be met, says Mr Rioux.
Quebec wants to ban the sale of gasoline vehicles by 2035. Équiterre wants that target pushed back to 2030.
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