Three Phase Network Access Program

• The applicant must be a business operating in the agricultural or agri-food sector (e.g. farming, maple production, greenhouse operations, food processing).
• The applicant must be registered with the Registraire des entreprises du Québec (REQ) and provide its Quebec business number (NEQ).
• The project must provide a new three-phase electrical supply to a building that was not previously supplied (not an increase or upgrade of an existing three-phase service).
• The applicant must request three-phase network access from the local electricity distributor (e.g. Hydro-Québec) and obtain a cost estimate and project category (extension or connection) before signing any agreement.
• The applicant must submit the financial assistance application to the Ministry no later than 30 calendar days after the first commitment related to the project (such as signing an agreement with the distributor or incurring eligible expenses).

Who is eligible?

• Agricultural enterprises
• Agri-food (agroalimentaire) processing enterprises
• Maple (acericulture) enterprises
• Greenhouse (serricole) enterprises
• Crop and livestock producers (e.g., corn, cranberry, bovine, ovine producers)

Who is not eligible

• Companies whose main activity is not in the agricultural sector.
• Companies whose main activity is not in the agri-food (food processing) sector.
• Businesses such as restaurants.
• Companies in machinery or equipment sales or services.
• Municipalities and other public bodies that are not agricultural or agri-food enterprises.

Eligible expenses

• Purchase and installation of electrical equipment needed to extend and connect to the three-phase electricity network (upstream of the user’s distribution panel), including items such as the service entrance cabinet, distribution box(es), main disconnect switch, metering/transformer cabinet and breakers in the main distribution panel.
• Supply and installation of support poles for overhead electrical lines required for the three-phase connection.
• Excavation and related civil works necessary for burying electrical cables for the three-phase network.
• Engineering and professional costs related to electrical design and project implementation (e.g. master electrician, engineering services, external professional fees such as architecture or surveying when required for the electrical project).
• Internal labour costs (salaries) directly linked to planning and carrying out the three-phase connection project, when properly declared.
• Construction or adaptation of a small building or shelter used specifically to house the electrical installations (e.g. service entrance and related three-phase equipment).
• The amount payable by the participant to the electricity distributor that is required for carrying out the three-phase extension or connection project.

Eligible geographic areas

• Businesses registered in the province of Quebec (Canada), as listed in the Registraire des entreprises du Québec (REQ).

• Compliance with administrative deadlines, particularly the submission of the complete application within 30 calendar days following the first commitment related to the project.
• Conformity of the application with the normative framework and the objectives of the Program (modernization, electrification, and reduction of fossil fuel consumption and GHG emissions).
• Reasonableness and clear justification of the costs and expenses presented, directly related to the implementation of the three-phase electrical network.
• Quality, completeness, and accuracy of the documentation provided (up-to-date form, cost estimate from the distributor, bids, project report, etc.).
• The Ministry's ability to delineate or reject certain costs or projects deemed non-compliant with the objectives or rules of the Program.

• The program documentation (guide, forms, templates) can be updated; applicants must always use the most recent versions available on the official website.
• The "date of anteriority" can be set at most 30 calendar days before submission of a complete application and does not guarantee that a subsidy will be granted.
• If the final eligible project costs are lower than initially estimated, the financial assistance will be recalculated and a reimbursement of overpaid amounts may be required.
• Projects where an existing three-phase installation is simply increasing capacity (e.g., new entry in parallel) are systematically refused, as the project must concern a building that was not previously supplied.