Hydro-Québec to invest up to $185B to increase capacity, improve reliability of service

Hydro-Québec is planning to spend billions within the next 12 years to reduce greenhouse gases, as well as increase generating capacity and improve the reliability of its network.

The action plan, expected to cost between $155 and $185 billion, involves increasing the power of existing power stations and tripling wind production by 2035. 

Despite the enormous investment —  an annual average of about four times higher than that over the last five years — the public utility assures electricity rates will remain "affordable." 

"For residential customers, rate increases will be limited to inflation, up to a ceiling of three per cent," a Thursday news release reads, adding energy efficiency will play a key role in reducing customer bills.

"Regarding commercial and industrial rates, their competitiveness will be maintained."

Earlier this week, Premier François Legault said he will be scrapping a government program that has given dozens of industrial companies rebates of up to 20 per cent on their electricity bill.

Hydro-Québec says it will work to reduce the frequency of outages by 35 per cent over the next seven to 10 years. It says innovative practices, such as burying power lines and using new equipment, such as composite utility poles, will help meet this goal. 

Between $45 billion and $50 billion will be used to improve the reliability of the infrastructure.

Hydro-Québec forecasts that by 2050, it will need to produce about twice as much power as it can now — an additional 150 to 200 terawatt-hours (TWh) — for homes and the province's growing industrial sector.

To cope with this growth, it will need an additional 8,000 to 9,000 megawatts (MW) of annual generating power by 2035. 

The utility plans to triple wind production by integrating more than 10,000 MW into the network by 2035, as well as renovate existing dams to generate an additional 2,000 MW. 

Up to 4,200 MW of new hydroelectric production capacity will be added thanks to the increase in the power of existing power stations, as well as the construction of new dams. 

Hydro-Québec also wants to add 5,000 kilometres of transmission lines, meaning up to 55,000 workers will be needed by 2033. 

Around $100 billion will be used by 2035 to increase production capacity, as well as the capacity of its electricity transportation network.

About 75 per cent of new electricity generation will be dedicated to decarbonizing the environment, while 25 per cent will fuel economic growth, Hydro-Québec said. 

Plan lacks transparency, Nadeau-Dubois says

Hydro-Québec's plan is not very "transformative," according to Éric Pineault, an environmental sciences professor at the Université du Québec à Montréal. 

He said much of the plan unveiled Thursday revolves around increasing supply, with the utility not doing much to address the demand side of the equation.

"We know that if we want to do an energy transition, then we have to work our demand and change the way we use energy in our society," Pineault said.

At the National Assembly, opposition leaders weighed in.

Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, the co-spokesperson for Québec Solidaire, said Hydro-Québec's plan lacks details and transparency.

"How are we going to pay for this?" he asked.

"We're talking about $185 billion in the next 12 years. That's a lot of money and it's very fast," Nadeau-Dubois added. "And we're saying we're going to spend all that money and it will have no impact on the price of electricity that ordinary people pay."

Marc Tanguay, the interim leader of the Quebec Liberal Party, said the scope of Hydro-Québec's ambitions announced on Thursday are an indication of the environmental challenges the province faces. 

"It shows that we lost five years with the CAQ government without any vision," he said, adding that it highlights the need for broader conversations about the future of Quebec's energy.