The government plans to appoint Michael Sabia as head of Hydro-Quebec, according to several media.
Mr. Sabia was President and CEO of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec from 2009 to 2020. He previously led Bell Canada from 2002 to 2008. The PressRadio-Canada and TVA reported on Tuesday that the government had chosen Mr. Sabia as successor to Sophie Brochu, who left as CEO of Hydro-Quebec in April.
Prime Minister François Legault’s office did not comment on this information. “We will make an appointment by the end of the month. Until then, we will not comment,” said press officer Ewan Sauves.
The office of Economy and Energy Minister Pierre Fitzgibbon also declined to comment.
Even before the official confirmation of Mr. Sabia’s appointment, the Quebec Employers Council welcomed this choice.
“Michael Sabia is a wise choice to take over the reins of a state-owned company in the midst of transformation, Hydro-Québec,” declared its CEO, Karl Blackburn. With a career as brilliant as that of Mr. Sabia, there is no doubt that he will be able to meet the current and future challenges of the organization. »
Mr. Sabia served as CN’s Chief Financial Officer when the railroad was privatized and later transformed into a public company. He began his career at the federal Department of Finance, then as Under-Secretary to the Cabinet at the Privy Council in Ottawa. In December 2020, Mr. Sabia was appointed Deputy Minister of Finance by the federal government.
The end of electricity surpluses
The departure of M.me Brochu occurred in the context where Hydro-Québec is facing the end of electricity surpluses and an increase in demand. She had expressed certain reservations about the role that the Legault government wanted to give to Hydro-Québec, that of a vector of economic development.
After the last elections, the government set up a committee, chaired by Mr. Legault, which must decide which new business projects can be connected to the electricity network.
During the last election campaign, Mr. Legault said that 100 TWh had to be added to Hydro-Québec’s capacity, or half of what the state-owned company currently produces. He had expressed the wish to relaunch the construction of hydroelectric dams. More recently, Mr. Fitzgibbon put forward the figure of 125 TWh for Hydro-Québec’s new needs. In its most recent strategic plan, Hydro-Québec estimated that more than 100 TWh would have to be added to ensure the energy transition to carbon neutrality by 2050.
In recent months, the government has launched negotiations with Newfoundland and Labrador to renew the contract to supply the Churchill Falls generating station, which expires in 2041. Mr. Fitzgibbon also launched tenders for wind energy.
Solidarity deputy Haroun Bouazzi, his party’s energy spokesman, believes that expectations are high of Mr. Sabia. “Hydro-Québec is not a company like the others: we must not let our national jewel become the Dollarama of energy,” he said. Although [Michael Sabia] has no experience in energy or ecology, we hope that[il] will focus its efforts on making the energy transition a success. »