The City of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu and the Electric Circuit commission a fast-charge station for all electric vehicles

France Lampron, Director – Transportation Electrification at Hydro-Québec, Patricia Poissant, City Councillor, Raynald Archambault, from Rona Ferronnerie Houle, Stéphane Beaudin, Assistant General Manager, and Jean Fontaine and Hugues Larivière, city councillors.

The City of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu and the Electric Circuit, in partnership with Nissan Canada and RONA, are pleased to announce that a new fast-charge station is now being offered to electric vehicle drivers. Visitors can now charge their cars in the parking lot of RONA Ferronnerie Houle, located at 85, avenue Conrad Gosselin in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu. This new fast-charge station is an important stopping point along Autoroute 35, in the Québec–Vermont charging corridor. A second fast-charge station will be commissioned in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu by the end of spring.

“By contributing to the development of the network of electric vehicle charging stations, the City of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu is demonstrating that transportation electrification is well underway in Québec, and in particular in the Montérégie, which is home to nearly 25% of the electric vehicles in Québec. Thanks to numerous actions and the new Transportation Electrification Action Plan 2015-2020, our government is once again showing its commitment to fighting greenhouse gas emissions through transportation electrification”, said Lucie Charlebois, Minister for Rehabilitation, Youth Protection, Public Health and Healthy Lifestyles and Minister responsible for the Montérégie region.

“The City of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu is pleased to welcome the first of two new fast-charge stations, which represents a productive partnership with Nissan Canada, RONA and the Electric Circuit. Electromobility is an economic asset for our region. We are very dynamic in this sector, with 20 public charging stations in service in the MRC du Haut-Richelieu. The municipality and the MRC are geared towards transportation electrification and we are proud to spur the arrival of even more electric vehicles on our roads, thanks to the increased number of public charging stations”, said Michel Fecteau, Mayor of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu and prefect of the MRC.

“Nissan is thrilled to be a major partner of the Electric Circuit’s expansion through the installation of fast-charge stations. Sales of electric vehicles are on the rise, in part because of initiatives like this one led by Hydro-Québec, which shows confidence in this rapidly growing market. Today’s announcement of the commissioning of a new fast-charge station is a landmark for zero-mobility emission in the province of Québec. It will allow a range of EVs, including the Nissan LEAF, to quickly extend their range, while reducing CO2 emissions, thereby helping more people make the decision to switch to electric vehicles”, said Joni Paiva, President of Nissan Canada.

“We wish to salute the City of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu for firmly supporting all electric vehicle drivers. In addition to this new fast-charge station, five standard stations are available in the Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu region”, saidFrance Lampron, Director – Transportation Electrification of Hydro-Québec on behalf of the founding partners of the Electric Circuit. “It is thanks to the confidence shown by partners such as the City of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Nissan Canada and RONA, a founding partner of the Electric Circuit, that the fast-charge network has rapidly continued its expansion.”

This additional charging station for EV drivers was made possible with the valuable collaboration of RONA Ferronnerie Houle, which granted the City of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu and Hydro-Québec the servitudes required for the installation and operation of this charging station.

The Electric Circuit

The Electric Circuit is the largest public charging network in Québec. It is a major initiative in the implementation of the infrastructure required to support the adoption of plug-in electric vehicles in Québec. The network comprises over 620 public charging stations, including 31 fast-charge stations, in operation across 16 Québec regions. Since its launch in March 2012, 137 private and institutional partners have joined the Electric Circuit and the network now has over 7,400 members.

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 and the mobile app for iOS and Android are updated as new stations are commissioned. The Electric Circuit card also allows users to access VERnetwork’s 150 Québec charging stations.

For information:

Louis-Olivier Batty
Hydro-Québec, for the Electric Circuit
514 289-4214
batty.louis-olivier@hydro.qc.ca

Isabelle Laflamme
Communications Officer
City of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu
450 357-2098, ext. 2149
I.Laflamme@sjsr.ca

Claudianne Godin
Manager, Media Relations and Advertising, Québec Region
Nissan Canada Inc.
514 235-8509
Claudianne.godin@nissancanada.com