New electricity needs could necessitate adding up to 150 terawatt hours (TWh) to Hydro-Québec’s capacity by 2050, estimates Economy and Energy Minister Pierre Fitzgibbon, who is already considering to take measures to encourage the public corporation’s subscribers to consume less energy.
Mr. Fitzgibbon said Friday that it will take more than the 100 TWh advanced this week by Prime Minister François Legault in his opening speech.
“The figure is between 100 and 150 TWh,” said the minister in a press briefing at the National Assembly.
During the election campaign, Mr. Legault had expressed the wish to relaunch the construction of hydroelectric dams to meet demand and eliminate greenhouse gases by 2050. Hydro-Québec will need new supplies from 2027.
The duty reported Friday that Mr. Legault was unaware of the existence of a study, commissioned by his government, indicating that it would take 137 TWh and not 100 TWh additional.
Mr Fitzgibbon explained on Friday that it is still impossible to say exactly how much wind or solar power or hydroelectric plants will need to be added by 2050.
“The stake is not even there, he said. The challenge is, in the short term, what do we do? »
In addition to adding wind turbines, the government plans to legislate next year to encourage subscribers to the state-owned company to consume less electricity during peak periods, which total 80 hours per year.
“Companies that want electric current, maybe we will tell them that the 80 peak hours per year, for peak management, you will not have any, electric current, we will lower it”, he said.
Residential subscribers could also be called upon in the effort to reduce energy consumption.
“We consumers may have to change our habits,” explained the minister. Wash the dishes, we’ll do it at midnight. »
Sobriety
Mr. Fitzgibbon believes that there is still a lot of room to gain in Quebec by changing electricity consumption habits.
“I talk a lot about sobriety,” he said. To know a little about what is happening in the world, we are not sober in our consumption. »
The minister gave an example of different habits in countries like China. “I lived in China and I can tell you that we arrived in the evening in the houses, it was cold”, he illustrated.
With these energy “sobriety” measures, Mr. Fitzgibbon hopes to limit the costly construction of the infrastructure needed to increase Hydro-Québec’s capacity. ” I think that [ces mesures équivalent à] a dam,” he said.
Mr. Fitzgibbon indicated that he would favor wind development “to the maximum”, perhaps in northern Quebec, before hydroelectric dams.
“Can we do massive wind projects in places where it will be socially acceptable and [de les] connect with transmission lines to the south? My intuition tells me we should look at this seriously,” he said.
An important bill affecting Hydro-Québec and the Régie de l’énergie will be presented next year by the minister. It could also specify “sobriety” measures.
“It’s not something we’re going to do in a gag order,” he said. We are going to consult, because it is very, very massive, it is major. »
Capped increases
On Friday, the government tabled a bill to cap Hydro-Quebec’s rate increases.
The legislative text, which will be studied in a parliamentary committee, provides that the increases cannot exceed 3%. This clarification follows the adoption by the CAQ government of a bill matching these increases to the inflation rate in 2019.
With this change, presented by Minister Fitzgibbon, Hydro-Québec’s rate increases would increase in line with inflation, up to a maximum of 3%.
The minister estimated that without this bill, fares would increase by 6.5%.
“We didn’t know at the time that we would have inflation of 6.5%,” he explained. Correct, we correct that and then we say: “It’s still inflation, but we put a ceiling.” »
The CAQ government had already announced its intention to correct the situation in this way. A bill had even been proposed by Mr. Fitzgibbon’s predecessor, Jonatan Julien, but it died on the order paper with the dissolution of the House preceding the election campaign.
The bill tabled Friday will also make it possible to relax the requirements for connecting new industrial customers for Hydro-Québec. The legislative text proposes to lower the ceiling of this obligation imposed on projects of 50 megawatts (MW) and less to those of 5 MW and less.
The interest in meeting requests for more than 5 MW will be determined by officials from Mr. Fitzgibbon’s department and by Hydro-Quebec. The economic impact of the projects and their contribution to decarbonization will be assessed.