Prime Minister François Legault agrees to lower off-peak electricity tariffs, as recommended by his super-minister Pierre Fitzgibbon, taking the dishwasher at night as an example.
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Last January, François Legault made it clear that encouraging Quebecers to run their dishwashers at night to conserve energy “is not something I want to consider in the short term.”
He preferred to keep his fingers crossed for companies first by withholding generous rebates on electricity from those who refuse to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.
The speech by the Minister of Energy, who is also committed to saving energy for private consumers, seems to have gone far with François Legault.
“I think we really need to look at energy efficiency. We have a lot more to do in Quebec,” the CAQ leader said during a news conference on the sidelines of his party’s convention opening on Saturday morning.
“It is not my intention to increase (electricity) tariffs, but we could lower them at certain times,” the Prime Minister continued.
“It is becoming increasingly clear that we will need much more electricity. The electricity that costs the least to produce is the electricity we save,” explained Mr. Legault.
But to encourage Quebecers to reduce their electricity consumption, Mr. Legault prefers the carrot to the stick.
“I think there’s a way to look. “It is not my intention to raise rates,” reiterated the Prime Minister, “but we could lower them at certain times.” Also, we need to explain to Quebecers that they could save money by introducing programs.” »
Hydro-Québec already offers dynamic pricing, allowing residential customers to receive discounts if they reduce their electricity consumption at certain times. To date, almost 228,000 customers have opted for this tariff on a voluntary basis.
Hydro-Quebec estimates it could save the equivalent of 25 TWh of electricity thanks to energy efficiency. “That means we would save ourselves the construction of two dams,” explained Mr. Legault.
Energy efficiency requires a number of measures, the Prime Minister suggested. Activists gathered in Congress also debated a proposal to subsidize the purchase of more efficient heating and air conditioning equipment, such as heat pumps.
Most of the proposals tabled at the Congress were accepted without much debate. However, the proposal to end the monopoly held by the Société des alcools du Québec was rejected. The same applies to the proposal to allow right turns at red lights on the island of Montreal.