Every new house built in Quebec to have mandatory 240v electric vehicle charging station

As part of its overall environmental strategy, the Quebec government is planning to make the installation of a 240-volt electric vehicle charging station in all newly built homes mandatory, according to the Journal de Montréal.

This requirement will add $400 on average to the cost of newly built single family homes, duplexes and condos.

Transportation Minister Jacques Daoust confirmed to Le Journal that an impact study on the subject was already underway, and that the new rules were going to be published by the Régie du bâtiment du Québec before the end of the summer.

The government estimates that the price for a 240-volt charging station can vary between $600 and $1,300, with installation costs ranging anywhere from $400 to $1,100 (before taxes), making for a total average cost of approximately $1,500, which may run higher if you need to upgrade your electrical panel or run underground cables.

Electric vehicle charging station comes with rebate incentive…

Home owners who have already purchased a new electric vehicle or plug-in hybrid can take advantage of a government rebate of up to $1,000 towards the purchase and installation of a 240-volt home charging station.

The cost of electricity for a full charge from a charging station, generally charged each night, is approximately $1, or approximately $300 for 20,000 kilometres driven in a year.

Furthermore, according to Le Journal’s parliamentary bureau, owners of rental buildings are also going to be required to install charging stations for renters with cars, not only for new buildings but also for buildings already constructed.

Responding to media reports, Daoust clarified that while the government is “headed in that direction” no firm decision had yet been taken, and added that he remembers a time when electrical outlets for clothing dryers weren’t common in newly built homes.
“It wasn’t standard in 1975. If you built a house today without an outlet for a dryer, no one would buy it,” he said. “We’re talking about a 30 ampere outlet. It’s not the end of the world.”

Mandatory electric vehicle charges represent a measure that’s sure to rile some building owners, but the Quebec government is willing to sweeten the medicine, with a $600 subsidy to private owners to install the charging stations.

François-William Simard, communications director for the Association des professionnels de la construction, told le Journal that the initiative was a good thing, and that it would cost far less to simply incorporate charging stations into new buildings from the outset than to adapt existing buildings later.

“It’s good news,” said Greenpeace’s Patrick Bonin. “At the moment, the absence of an outlet is a barrier to buying an electric vehicle, because home owners who want to install one have to run a 240-volt cable outside.”

According to the Association des véhicules électriques du Québec, there were 8,338 electric vehicles on Quebec roads as of December 31 2015, with 1,045 of those in Montreal, 826 in Quebec City, and 416 in Laval.
The government has set a target to have 100,000 electric vehicles on the road by 2020.

The most popular models of electric vehicle in Quebec are the Chevrolet Volt, with 43% of the market, the Nissan Leaf with 21%, and the Tesla model S, at 10% market share.

The Quebec government’s 2030 energy policy has set five targets to meet their overarching environmental goal, including making already existing sources of energy 15% more energy efficient, reducing petroleum product use by 40%, eliminate coal use altogether, increasing renewable energy production by 25%, and increasing bio-energy production by 50%.