Alectra Drive for the Workplace

About the Program

Alectra Utilities and the City of Markham unveiled Alectra Drive for the Workplace, on January 17, 2018. It is a two-year pilot program at the Markham Civic Centre that will assess the impact of daytime electric vehicle (EV) charging on Ontario’s electricity grid at multiple workplaces.

This first-of-its-kind initiative involves the use of 16 Level 2 EV charging stations, ten outdoor and six indoor for program participants only, plus one Level 2 (L2)  and one Level 3 (L3) charging station available for public use.

By making EV charging stations more accessible, the Alectra Drive for the Workplace program will help reduce battery range anxiety for participating drivers, and support the province’s goal of increasing EV sales to five per cent of all new passenger vehicles sold by 2020.

Front: Councillor Logan Kanapathi; Regional Councillor Nirmala Armstrong; Pratap Revuru, Schneider Electric; Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti; Honourable Michael Chan, MPP Markham-Unionville; Neetika Sathe, Alectra Inc.; Nik Schruder, IESO; Councillor Valerie Burke; Deputy Mayor Jack Heath

Back: Steven Vaccaro, Eguana Technologies; Matt Stevens, FleetCarma; Louis Tremblay, FLO; Graham Seaman, City of Markham; Michael Sinnatamby, Aviva Canada; Andy Taylor, City of Markham

A unique feature of the Alectra Drive for the Workplace project is the Demand Energy Resource Management System (DERMS) provided by Schneider Electric, which will manage and minimize the electricity needed by the Markham Civic Centre and EV charging stations during peak hours while providing adequate charge to the electric vehicles. The DERMS will collect real-time data to optimize electricity loads to the EVs and building service equipment.

The Alectra Drive for the Workplace pilot program is being funded by the IESO Conservation Fund as well as by Natural Resources Canada who provided funding through its ElectricVehicle Infrastructure Demonstrations component of the Energy Innovation program. Alectra Utilities and its partners will fund the balance of the program through a combination of funding and in-kind services and products. The charging stations at the Markham Civic Centre will be powered by Aviva Canada, who has generously covered the cost of electricity. Other corporate partners supporting the program at the Markham Civic Centre include Schneider Electric, FleetCarma, Util-Assist, Robertson Bright, Plug’n Drive, Eguana Technologies and FLO.

Free L2 & L3 Public EV Chargers Available - Powered by Aviva Canada

Free L2 & L3 EV charging stations are available for Markham residents and visitors at the Markham Civic Centre - Powered by Aviva Canada. Available for use 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.