Videotron

Videotron, a subsidiary of Quebecor and one of Canada’s largest telecommunications providers, was one of the first companies in the country to begin converting its service fleet to electric. And it was forced to begin the hard way.

“There were no vehicles available from the manufacturer that suited our needs. So we decided to … replace the ICE engines on used vans with an electric motor,” said Stephane Labrecque, the company’s fleet director.

Learning on their own

Labrecque, who was running the fleet when the program began in 2020, said the push came from the top. Quebecor president and CEO Pierre Karl Péladeau asked the fleet team to draw up a plan to electrify.

With around 20 converted Ford vans to start, Videotron has not looked back.

“We started learning to electrify, but also to organize, see the range of the vehicle, and so on. It was a curveball, but we learned from that. And it’s the greatest way to learn.”

Videotron has since switched to new vehicles after Ford announced the E-Transit, Labrecque said, with government incentives helping.

An all-electric depot

Today, Videotron has 125 zero-emission service vehicles in its fleet of 587 with almost 2 million annual all-electric kilometres. Many are scattered around its service hubs in Quebec and combined with other ICE vehicles, but the company’s Frontenac hub in Montreal is an all-electric depot using Ford E-Transit vans.

Frontenac was chosen partly because vehicles there average just 50 to 55 kilometres a day, well within the roughly 200-kilometre range of the vans, Labrecque said. About 60 to 70 vehicles are based there, served by between 75 and 80 chargers.

Data solutions

At first, the vehicles were simply plugged in at the ends of shifts, which spiked electricity use and costs. Cléo, a smart-charging software from Polara, staggers vehicle charging and helps save Videotron about $800 a month at that depot alone.

Labrecque also adds that Videotron benefits from around $350,000 per year with Clean Fuel Regulations (CFR) credits.

Solution Astus is another of Videotron’s partners in electrification, providing telematics solutions to facilitate the transition to EVs. Astus helps analyze usage cycles, monitor vehicle usage, identify ideal vehicles for electrification and optimize charging schedules.

Labrecque estimates that each E-Transit saves about $40,000 in lifecycle costs over roughly 10 years compared with a gas-powered Transit.

Optimizing the fleet

As for updating Videotron’s electric fleet, Labrecque says it’s not as simple as replacing gas-powered vans at end-of-life. Some service routes are simply too far for today’s electric work vans.

Also, with telecom equipment getting easier to use and more reliable, there have been fewer service calls needed. In the last few years, the company has downsized from a fleet of around 800 vehicles to just under 600 today.

“We’re not just thinking electrifying,” he says. “We’re thinking about how to optimize our fleet.

“Maybe we can use a smaller vehicle. Or maybe we don’t need to replace it at all.”

Quebecor has pledged to have a fully zero-emission fleet by 2030. It has also joined EV100, a global initiative led by The Climate Group that aims to speed up the adoption of electric vehicles by businesses.