The availability of labor is the most important challenge on the difficult path of Hydro-Québec’s titanic development plan, which will require tens of billions of investments to increase its electricity production by 2035 , declared Thursday the president and CEO of Hydro-Québec, Michael Sabia.
Mr. Sabia began his appearance in the parliamentary committee by explaining to the deputies that it will be necessary to be bold in adding infrastructure which will allow an increase of 8,000 to 9,000 megawatts (MW) in the capacity of the state company.
“The best moments in our history were marked by the audacity and courage of the great builders,” he declared.
In his presentation, Mr. Sabia insisted on the importance of investing in the energy transition to break away from fossil fuels.
“This is a real breakup and it wouldn’t be easy,” he said. And those who thought it would be easy? Think about it even more. »
Mr. Sabia gave the example of the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom, whose budgets for the energy transition range from 7.5 trillion to 600 billion dollars by 2035.
“This is no time for half measures,” he said.
Funding for Hydro-Québec projects, which could require investments of $100 to $185 billion by 2035, will be easier to find than workers to hire.
“Labor is the most difficult challenge,” he said.
Changes will be needed to speed up training, coordinate jobs, integrate workers and give them the best possible tools, he said.
Prices
Then questioned about the impact of Hydro-Québec projects on the rates of its subscribers, Mr. Sabia affirmed that by 2035 the interest rates, the financial arrangements of the projects and the workforce will each have their impact.
“Another very important element is the impact on our operating costs of the price of labor,” he said. The availability of labor remains an issue and also the price of labor, which could have a significant impact on our operating costs. »
Subsequently relaunched, Mr. Sabia affirmed that his action plan, which runs until 2035, relies on maximum increases of 3% in residential rates, as capped by the CAQ government.
“It’s a guess on our part,” he said.
Mr. Sabia said he is unable to specify what increases the commercial sector is exposed to due to uncertainties around inflation.
“In general, do we think there will be an increase at some level for our business customers? In our opinion, yes, it is very likely,” he said.
Fewer breakdowns
Hydro-Québec executives gave details on the part of their plan which aims to reduce the number of outages by 35% within 7 to 10 years. In total, 45 to 50 billion will be invested by 2035.
Claudine Bouchard, executive vice-president and head of operations and infrastructure, explained that work must be intensified to limit the impact of vegetation on the network.
To manage the impact of outages, the state-owned company will be able to sell batteries and heat accumulators to its customers in addition to providing them with mobile supply units.
Further details will follow.