Last December, the Minister of Economy and Energy, Pierre Fitzgibbon, struck a chord by preaching for energy “sobriety”, affirming that Quebecers could be encouraged to start their dishwashers at midnight to reduce the peak demand. The Minister had mentioned the possibility of including in a bill differentiated tariffs according to the hours of the day in order to bring about a change in consumption habits.
This week, on the eve of a cold spell which caused a strong peak on Friday and Saturday, Mr. Fitzgibbon no longer professed sobriety.
“On the contrary, when it’s cold, you have to warm up,” he replied to a journalist on Thursday.
This declaration came at the end of a seven-day sequence where the government continued to clarify its vision regarding the role of Hydro-Québec in the energy transition towards carbon neutrality by 2050.
tempered ardor
The previous week, in Laval, Prime Minister François Legault had also concluded a meeting of his deputies by tempering Mr. Fitzgibbon’s ardor in terms of energy sobriety. No more question of legislating, in the short term, to ask Quebecers to start their dishwashers at midnight, he explained in substance, during a press conference.
However, sharing Mr. Fitzgibbon’s opinion on the role of the private sector in the wind power sector, the Prime Minister had also ruled out the possibility of entrusting Hydro-Québec with the operation of future wind farms.
In the National Assembly, work resumed on Tuesday with the study of Bill 2, which aims to cap Hydro-Québec’s rate increases at 3% and to exempt the Crown corporation from the obligation to accept all supply requests from companies.
Present during the study of the legislative text, Mr. Fitzgibbon specified that the government would not respond positively to the total of 23,000 additional MW currently requested by companies, which, according to Hydro-Québec, would require the construction of 13 power stations. hydroelectric similar to that of La Romaine, on the North Shore.
The Minister affirmed that the Crown corporation would only be able to meet the needs of projects totaling between 8,000 and at most 10,000 MW. In the same breath, he struck off the list of green hydrogen production projects, whose requests totaled 9000 MW.
One train can hide another
Mr. Legault and his minister nevertheless ended the week by associating the government with a hydrogen project produced with renewable energy. A grant of $3 million was thus awarded to a pilot project for a green hydrogen tourist train in Charlevoix.
On this occasion, Mr. Fitzgibbon finally clarified that, despite what he had said two days earlier, Hydro-Québec will still supply new strategic green hydrogen projects. In the same breath, he declared that a third of the heavy transport sector will use green hydrogen, while acknowledging that he does not “really” know the proportion that this fuel will occupy in the energy transition.
Confusion and improvisation
Holder of the Chair in Energy Sector Management at HEC Montréal, Pierre-Olivier Pineau observes that this series of declarations testifies to the absence of a clear government plan in the energy transition file, which should enable Québec to respect its commitments in the fight against climate change. “By making unprepared statements that come out of the minds of our leaders without understanding the source of these statements, it sows confusion,” he laments.
Professor of physics at the University of Montreal and scientific director of the Trottier Energy Institute at Polytechnique Montreal, Normand Mousseau makes the same observation. “I think they haven’t grasped what that means, the scale of the energy transition, what it represents, and the need for a global strategy,” he says.
By making unprepared statements that come out of the minds of our leaders without understanding the source of these statements, it sows confusion.
The two researchers are surprised by the figures brandished by Mr. Fitzgibbon, of which they have never heard.
Mr. Mousseau says he has never seen any scientific data establishing that a third of the heavy transport sector will need green hydrogen. “Take this as a political statement,” he warns. There are no studies on this that I have seen. »
Mr. Pineau also questions the Minister’s analysis. I think it’s an estimate that comes from the heads of the advisers, I don’t see any study that can confirm that, ”he asserts in turn.
Reluctance to change
The change of direction for the revision of residential tariffs also testifies to a navigation by sight, notes Mr. Pineau. “Politically, it doesn’t pay to start a debate on tariffs,” he says. It pisses everyone off talking about it, and there’s a big reluctance to change.”
Mr. Mousseau blames this on Mr. Fitzgibbon’s inexperience. “We see that it did not pass, he notes. He had just arrived in office, he absorbed what he was told abroad without realizing that this was not the problem in Quebec. »
The two researchers are divided on the usefulness of the measure. For Mr. Pineau, the government is only shoveling the problem forward. “It seems to be a reflection of a complete lack of plan, of a rather deep improvisation,” he says.
Mr. Mousseau believes it is pointless to have measurements outside of peak periods since the current power of 40,000 MW from Hydro-Québec meets demand almost all of the time. “Telling people to wash their dishes at night, in the middle of summer, doesn’t make sense,” he explains.
Supplies
Despite the downward revision of what could be offered for new business projects, Mr. Mousseau considers that the quantity of 8,000 MW to 10,000 MW, or at least 80 TWh per year, is considerable. He recalls that the government has already recognized that an additional 100 TWh is already needed just to electrify the economy as part of the energy transition. “It’s based on their judgment,” he notes. If we were asked to find 10,000 MW, it wouldn’t be easy. »
Mr. Pineau estimates that this objective could still be achieved in five years, although he again emphasizes the lack of a specific plan. “It’s not impossible,” he said. It’s more improvisation than planning and serious, transparent and independent studies. »
As for the role of the private sector in wind power, Mr. Mousseau believes that it would be more advantageous to let Hydro-Québec operate its own facilities. “We pay more for wind power because the profits, 15% to 20% collected by the owners of the parks, are not in the pockets of Quebecers,” he says.
An opinion not shared by Mr. Pineau, for whom Hydro-Québec is already doing enough. “I don’t think it’s a mistake to leave market share to other players. »