The Minister of Energy affirms that Quebecers consume their electricity badly and that they will have to change their habits. To convince them, he is thinking of reducing prices for those, for example, who start their dishwashers during the night.
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Minister Pierre Fitzgibbon believes that the behavior of Quebecers is wrong. They target citizens as much as businesses and industries.
“We do not consume our electricity well. If we don’t recognize that…”, he said, without completing his statement.
Hydro-Québec will run out of electricity by 2026. The Crown corporation wants to save 25,000 megawatts annually through energy conservation.
“When we talk about sobriety, we are talking about increasing energy efficiency. 25 terawatt hours (…) is major. For that, behaviors must change, ”reiterated the minister.
Last Thursday, he affirmed during the study of the credits that the hydroelectricity tariffs could be reviewed, following the consultation on the future of energy.
“Maybe we can modulate it so that it costs less. My example of the dishwasher, everyone laughs at me, but I’m absolutely right. The dishwasher, the timer, it costs two dollars,” he said, admitting that Quebecers did not want to see their prices increase. “Your dishwasher, if you leave at 2 a.m., it should cost two cents per kilowatt hour… I say nonsense, but we can modulate it downwards, so that people see it as an incentive”.
Programs that exist
However, Quebecers already have access to dynamic pricing that allows customers to participate in challenges. When they reduce their consumption at specific times, they get discounts on their bills.
However, Hydro-Québec struggles to publicize these programs and attract followers. In 2023, approximately 228,000 customers have opted for this voluntary tariff offer, confirms Hydro.
Our Parliamentary Office revealed last October that the Crown corporation is studying the possibility of automatically registering new Hydro-Québec customers for dynamic pricing in order to increase the number of participants.
Hydro wants to offer an “opt-in” type contract, which integrates a customer into a service without giving him the chance to choose beforehand. The “opt-out” must be done at the request of the client.
Thus, they would participate in one of the time-of-use pricing programs, but still have the option of opting out afterwards.
Meanwhile, Minister Pierre Fitzgibbon considers that “it takes education” to change behavior.