The CPA will work cooperatively with the Association québécoise du propane to challenge a bill introduced by Québec Minister Pierre Moreau that would promote the establishment of a public fast-charging service for electric vehicles.
The bill is in part an effort to make vehicles greener and thus reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It aims to:
- Amend the Hydro-Québec Act to allow the government to set the rates, by regulation, for a public fast-charging service for electric vehicles; and
- Amend the Act respecting the Régie de l’énergie to allow it to consider, when setting electricity distribution rates, the revenues required by Hydro-Québec for the operation of a public fast-charging service for electric vehicles as well as economic, social and environmental concerns that the government may indicate to the Régie.
If the bill is passed, the government says the proposed solution would offset the high cost and the lack of profitability of fast-charging stations for electric vehicles, while ensuring the rapid deployment and durability of such a public service. It will reconcile Hydro-Québec’s actions with government policies and guidelines to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and support the energy transition. It also says it would have no direct financial consequences for the government and electricity consumers, since the costs associated with the operation of a public fast-charging service for electric vehicles would be included in electricity distribution rates and will have nil effect on these, given the increase in electricity sales.
As of March 31, 2018, 24,694 electric vehicles were registered in Québec. To reach the targets set—100,000 by 2020, 300,000 in 2026 and one million in 2030—the government says a deployment of public fast-charging stations is required. There are currently about 113 of these terminals in Québec. The goal is to add 1,600 more fast-charging stations within the next 10 years.
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