A charging station is added to the Relais Gabriel

Motorists who use Route 389, which connects Baie-Comeau to Fermont, can now recharge their electric vehicles on the road. A brand new terminal powered by solar panels recently appeared at the Relais Gabriel.

The YULtek company is behind this new autonomous terminal, which is in addition to the one already available at the Manic-5 power plant. The objective of this new feature is to facilitate access to the town of Fermont, located approximately 565 kilometres north of Baie-Comeau.

It is an autonomous charging solution that was developed by a Quebec firm […] and which has the great advantage of being able to be deployed in places where there is no access to the Hydro-Québec electricity network.

This terminal with a power of 50 kilowatts (kW) is autonomous. It has 100 kilowatt hours in reserve to be able to charge, I would say, about two electric vehicles one after the other.Mr. Batty summarizes.

Once this reserve is exhausted, the sun will gradually recharge the terminal using the installed solar panels. If it’s completely empty, it may take a few hours before it’s full. That’s perhaps the only drawback.admits the Hydro-Québec spokesperson.

Louis-Olivier Batty agrees that it is therefore possible that this terminal, if it has been used previously, be more or less available in terms of kilowatt hours and energy that it can provide.

The Hydro-Québec Electric Circuit mobile app will, however, detail the available energy level of this terminal. It is therefore recommended to check before taking Route 389, since the cellular network is sometimes non-existent in this area.

Obviously, this can change during our journey in an hour or two. […]but still, it gives a good indication of whether there will be energy available when people arrive at the terminal.adds Mr. Batty.

The spokesperson also specifies that those who drive an electric vehicle on Route 389 must make sure they are aware of their vehicle’s energy consumption. They are also recommended to leave Manic-5 or Fermont with a fully charged battery to avoid finding themselves in a bad situation.

A first step for route 389

Hydro-Québec sees the addition of the Relais Gabriel terminal as a first step of its development of the electrical circuit on this artery.

We plan and hope, by the end of the year, to be able to add a second fast charging stage somewhere between Relais Gabriel and Fermont. So that would provide even more charging possibilities.

The Côte-Nord currently has more than 75 charging stations on its territory, between Tadoussac and Natashquan. Hydro-Québec specifies that additions have been made in recent years so that charging stations are possible approximately every 100 kilometers.

Furthermore, needs are constantly assessed. If the traffic rate at certain charging sites is high, if we see that there are regular queues, we will add new terminals on the same site or nearby to diversify the search offerspecifies Louis-Olivier Batty.

With information from Madeleine Ross