Thing promised, thing due. The Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Jonatan Julien, introduced a short bill on Wednesday to limit the increase in hydroelectric costs.
The elected member of the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ) thus confirms the intentions he had expressed in March. Faced with the high inflation rates expected next year, the government of François Legault then undertook to reopen the law to reduce the burden imposed on Quebecers’ bills.
“We are facing an exceptional situation, cyclical, which means that, potentially, next year, there could be a price increase of 4%, 5%”, observed Mr. Julien at the time.
The new text of the law from Minister Julien takes up a few pages. Essentially, it simply adds a section to the law to ensure that the annual increase in fees is capped, even if the rate of inflation exceeds the norm. The government has three days left to pass its bill. Otherwise, it will have to be reintroduced after the elections.
According to opposition groups, the CAQ government got itself entangled in this unfortunate situation. In 2019, it adopted under a gag order Bill 34 “aiming to simplify the process for establishing electricity distribution rates”. Since then, it is inflation that dictates the annual increase in Hydro-Québec rates, not the Régie de l’énergie.
“They made a historic mistake with the bill they decided to adopt, a bill that everyone criticized, launched last March the leader of the Liberal Party of Quebec, Dominique Anglade. Everyone was against it except them. »
Further details will follow.