(Sherbrooke) Premier François Legault is reopening a door he had closed at the start of the year by saying that Hydro-Québec’s residential rates could be reviewed to encourage energy sobriety.
“I think there is a way to look, it is not my intention to increase the prices, but we could reduce them at certain times. In addition, we have to explain to Quebecers that they could save money, set up programs… I think we really have to look at energy efficiency to do a lot more in Quebec,” he said on Saturday. , during a press conference on the first day of his party’s convention in Sherbrooke.
In January, Mr. Legault, however, postponed the idea of encouraging residential customers of Hydro-Quebec to energy sobriety. He then moderated the ardor of his Minister of Economy and Energy, Pierre Fitzgibbon, who implied that Quebecers would have to start the dishwasher at night to save on their electricity bill.
The Prime Minister then said that the bill expected this fall affecting Hydro-Québec and the Régie de l’énergie would only revise hydroelectricity rates for businesses, including the famous Rate L reserved for large industrial customers. The objective is to modulate them according in particular to their efforts to decarbonize Quebec, he explained.
A week ago, Pierre Fitzgibbon revived the theme of energy sobriety for residential customers, taking up his example of lower rates for those who would run their dishwashers at night. He said that the modulation of residential rates could be part of his bill.
François Legault confirmed on Saturday that his government is seriously considering it. “It’s increasingly clear that we’re going to need more electricity and the electricity that costs the least to produce is the one we save. […] I think that energy efficiency is something very important,” he said, referring to a reduction in tariffs at certain times of the day.
He said he was satisfied that Hydro-Québec had raised its energy efficiency target, from an expected saving of 8 to 25 TWh by 2030. “That means that it would save us, in quotation marks, the construction of the equivalent of two dams”, insisted Mr. Legault.
For his part, Finance Minister Eric Girard pointed out that in the government, the subject of rate modulation is “discussed in a context of neutral income” for Hydro-Québec. This would therefore mean that the rates could be revised downwards for certain hours, but increased for other times of the day in order to maintain the revenues of the government corporation.
“Revenues from Crown corporations are budgeted. Any modulation of rates must go through the Régie de l’énergie, and that must be studied. Usually when you look at accommodations, it’s neutral,” he explained.