Despite the significant savings they offer, Hydro-Québec’s variable pricing options are not very popular with electricity consumers. Only 8% of the state-owned company’s 4.2 million residential customers have adopted them.
The winter 2023-2024 report published by Hydro-Québec indicates that 340,000 residential subscribers out of a total of 4.2 million participated in one or other of the three dynamic pricing options, namely winter credit, the Flex D and Hilo fare.
They saved a total of around 15 million on their electricity bill.
This participation made it possible to relieve the electricity network by around 350 megawatts each time the electricity network was most heavily loaded, which happened around ten times during the winter. This is the equivalent of the consumption of 50,000 houses.
Those who benefited the most were Hilo’s 35,000 customers, who earned an average reward of $135 for the winter season or $7.13 for each of the 19 events during which they were required to reduce their electricity use.
In total, Hydro-Québec paid Hilo customers rewards of 4.6 million.
Hilo customers moved 103 megawatts of power per event, which is higher than Hydro-Québec’s objectives, said spokesperson Cendrix Bouchard.
The state-owned utility is betting big on Hilo and expects those results to increase sixfold to 620 megawatts in 2028-2029.
The most popular pricing option, the winter credit, reduced participants’ average electricity bill by $63 and cost Hydro-Québec $6.7 million. The winter credit rewarded more than 270,000 customers who reduced their electricity use during periods of high demand with a credit of 55.13 cents per kilowatt hour erased.
The Flex D rate, the least popular of the three, offers a reduced rate throughout the winter period and a very high rate of 55.13 cents per kilowatt hour consumed during periods of high demand. The savings it made this winter have not yet been recorded by Hydro-Québec. Last year, the average reduction was $114 per participant for a cost of $2.9 million for Hydro-Québec.
In addition to residential customers, 1,500 companies participated in Hydro-Québec’s two peak management programs, to move 647 megawatts per period this winter.
An extraordinary winter
In total, the three tariff options cost Hydro-Québec some 15 million in 2023-2024 in rewards and reduced bills. The winter which is ending has been particularly mild, and heat records were recorded in January and February.
The winter’s peak electricity demand occurred on the morning of January 19, 2024 and reached 36,700 megawatts. This is much less than the previous winter, when the Hydro-Québec network was called upon for 43,123 megawatts.
No purchases from neighboring networks were necessary to meet peak electricity demand this year.
The increase in the number of customers who adhere to variable pricing and Hilo is considered satisfactory by Hydro-Québec. “We must consider that moving our consumption during peak periods represents a significant change in behavior,” says Cendrix Bouchard. We must give our customers time to acquire new consumption habits. »
Hydro-Québec would like to quadruple the number of members of its rate offers by 2035.
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- 36,700 megawatts
- Peak demand on the power grid last winter was 36,700 megawatts, well below the 43,123 megawatts in 2023.
source: Hydro-Québec