To address the “immense challenge” of looming electricity shortages, Hydro-Québec is launching a “real race against time” to increase its production and persuade Quebecers to reduce their consumption.
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In his action plan presented on Thursday, three months after taking office, the state-owned company’s CEO Michael Sabia named investments that could reach $185 billion by 2035 – three to four times as much as currently.
First, Hydro is doubling its energy efficiency goal set less than a year ago to 21 terawatt hours (TWh) by 2035. To achieve this goal, Hydro will cover up to 50% of the cost of purchasing energy efficient equipment.
Huge need
Despite all this, Hydro-Québec expects to need an additional 150 to 200 TWh by 2050 to meet demand, meaning a doubling of its production capacity. It estimates that three-quarters of these increases will be used to decarbonize Quebec’s energy consumption and 25% to respond to economic growth.
Hydro wants to triple its production from wind, which in new wind farms is equivalent to 15 times the area of the island of Montreal.
The company also intends to increase production from its existing hydroelectric power plants and build new dams. And unlike Prime Minister François Legault, she is not closing the door to the return of nuclear power to Bécancour.
Increasing production and transmission capacity alone will cost Hydro-Québec $90 billion to $110 billion.
Service: “not at eye level”
Added to this are investments of $45 billion to $50 billion to improve the reliability of the grid, which has declined sharply in recent years, leading to a significant increase in power outages, particularly this year.
“Our service levels are not up to par,” Mr Sabia admitted on Thursday, citing “under-investment” in recent years.
Hydro estimates that the major work on the drawing board will require an average of 35,000 workers per year.
To finance them, the state-owned company will explore the possibility of bringing in private partners, accelerating tariff increases for industrial customers, cutting the dividend paid to the state and even resorting to “a more flexible pricing framework” for large private customers and special owners of “imposing houses” .
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