In Joliette, most people do not receive a bill from Hydro-Québec each month, but from Hydro-Joliette. It’s the same thing in Coaticook and Sherbrooke, which are in the select club of Quebec cities that have their own electricity network. A highly strategic tool which allows, in certain cases, to cover a large part of the budget.
“Often, it makes the difference at the end of the year to be able to have a balanced budget and offer more services to citizens,” summarizes the mayor of Joliette, Pierre-Luc Bellerose.
In his eyes, the presence of large institutions in his city, such as the Joliette Art Museum, is not unrelated to electricity revenues. “It allows us to have projects that usually a city of 22,000 inhabitants could not afford to have. »
In total, nine municipalities have such a network: Alma, Amos, Baie-Comeau, Coaticook, Joliette, Magog, Saguenay, Sherbrooke and Westmount. Their existence is the vestige of the electrification of transport at the end of the 19th century.e century in Quebec.
After the nationalization of electricity in the 1960s, there were still 80 networks of this type, but almost all of them were subsequently sold to Hydro-Québec.
In Saguenay, the Hydro-Jonquière network provides no less than $50 million to the municipality each year. This is 12.6% of its budget. In Sherbrooke, the harvest is 55 million.
“It belongs to the citizens, it is not commercial, it is not a private enterprise,” summarizes the director of Hydro-Sherbrooke, Christian Laprise. “It gives a city one more tool. »
With its 91,409 subscribers spread across twelve municipalities, Hydro-Sherbrooke is by far the largest organization in the group. The local population is “proud” of it, mentions the director of Hydro-Sherbrooke and, in addition, they appreciate the greater “proximity” they have with network personnel in the event of outages.
Some of these cities, like Baie-Comeau, rely heavily on their electricity network for economic development. As colleague Sébastien Tanguay wrote in an on-site report last year, the “cheap energy” offered by the city is considered “an essential asset in Baie-Comeau’s sleeve”. In recent years, it has allowed it to attract companies specializing in the cryptocurrency industry, but also green hydrogen.
It belongs to the citizens, it is not commercial, it is not a private enterprise.
The City of Saguenay (and its Hydro-Jonquière network) was asked by Bitfarms to host a cryptocurrency factory in 2018, but the project did not come to fruition. However, the potential remains for industrial development, explains spokesperson Dominic Arseneau, who emphasizes that its network is “not operated at full capacity” and could distribute an additional 40 MW.
Towards an increase in energy production
In the context where Quebec needs more electricity, could these cities be called upon to contribute? Yes, in a certain way, explains Christian Laprise, of Hydro-Sherbrooke, who is also president of the group of cities concerned, the Association of Electricity Redistributors of Quebec (AREQ).
AREQ members do not have the capacity to provide much additional electricity. They are above all distributors of electricity, and those who produce it do so in small quantities.
“The power plants we operate do not account for a large part of the electricity we sell,” emphasizes Mr. Laprise. Barely 3.5% in the case of Sherbrooke; the rest is purchased from Hydro-Québec.
This is also the case for Saguenay, which produces 16 MW each year with its three power stations along the Chicoutimi River. The rest of the electricity is sold to Hydro-Québec, and 3 MW serves part of the territory of the former town of Jonquière, specifies Mr. Arseneau. But Hydro-Jonquière also buys electricity from Hydro-Québec to supply its distribution network.
Furthermore, Hydro-Québec’s ambitions will also affect distribution, mentions Mr. Laprise. “We’re going to have to build more distribution stations,” he said. “We must do our part. »
Hydro-Québec estimates that twice as much electricity will be needed by 2050 in Quebec to meet demand, the equivalent of an additional 150 to 200 TWh.
For Sherbrooke, Alma and others, this will require major investments in the coming years. “For Hydro-Sherbrooke, we might think that we need to double the installations,” maintains Mr. Laprise.
However, taxpayers should not feel the effects too much because the growing revenues generated by the network should partly make it possible to finance the work. “The transition brings growth, and we can think that there will be profit growth. »
Safe from major breakdowns
The positioning of municipal networks also generates certain incongruities. Thus, in certain sectors of Sherbrooke, people receive bills from Hydro-Sherbrooke, while in others, they are supplied by Hydro-Québec. In Amos, it can even differ depending on which side of the street you are on.
Citizens are often reminded of this during major outages. Thus, during the storm of December 2022, the Hydro-Jonquière network “had no breakdowns”, recalls the City spokesperson. “All the people in Hydro-Jonquière had electricity, while in town, there were people almost everywhere who lacked it. »
Because they are much less “extensive” than the Hydro-Québec network, municipal networks can do more detailed planning of the clearance of lines in relation to vegetation, mentions Mr. Arseneau.
Moreover, it is not uncommon, during major outages, for their staff to serve as reinforcements for Hydro-Québec employees on the ground. “We have a support system. If our breakdowns are resolved and they agree, they call us,” says Mr. Laprise.