(Quebec) Establishing an assistance fund for domestic customers, adjusting electricity prices based on time of consumption starting in 2026 and allowing Hydro-Québec to proceed without inviting bids to find new sources of energy, Minister Pierre Fitzgibbon finally presented his proposed energy bill, which throws the grid into Wide.
The Legault government is opening the door to adjusting electricity prices for residential customers starting in 2026 “to promote the reduction of electricity consumption during peak periods as well as the rate or conditions of electricity distribution service applicable to these customers that vary according to energy density.”
Minister Fitzgibbon wants to “force” debate on the amendment issue. Do we have to pay more for electricity when we heat our swimming pool, or when we run the dishwasher during peak consumption, for example? In fact, the bill would give the Energy Authority the power to make this amendment mandatory if it saw fit, Mr Fitzgibbon acknowledged.
“We want more wind turbines, more solar energy, and new dams,” the Minister of Economy and Energy said in a promotional video released Thursday.
This is the essence of the bill, it asks the minister to develop a road map towards decarbonizing Quebec in 2050. The question is: “Who will pay for this?” asked Mr. Fitzgibbon. Through the amendment, the minister estimates that he can recover “poorly consumed” energy equivalent to two hydropower plants.
It also provides for the creation of an assistance fund “to limit the impact of the increase in Hydro-Quebec’s electricity distribution rates to local customers,” in the context of a $100 billion investment plan in Hydro-Quebec to double its production capacity. be expensive.
The government will ask the Energy Authority to take into account its “economic, social and environmental concerns” which it will have to take into account in its decisions.
It removes the obligation to obtain a permit from the government so that the ministers of the economy, natural resources and forests or the minister of the environment can “make buildings or facilities available to Quebec's hydro forces within the country.” Remember that the Ministry of Environment must own 930 government dams, of which 391 are high-capacity dams.
By raising the threshold for energy that the government can “lease” to a company to 100 megawatts, it would in effect allow Hydro-Québec to sell its smallest power plants to groups of municipalities or indigenous communities, for example.
The bill provides that any employee of Hydro-Québec may enter any building for certain purposes, such as carrying out preparatory work or clearing the poles and wires of the transmission or distribution network of all plants, for example.
In order to allow Hydro-Québec to rapidly increase its energy production, Quebec is “withdrawing its commitment to proceed by invitation to tender” in relation to “electricity supply contracts.” In certain cases, you won't even need Energy Authority approval.
It is no exaggeration to say that Pierre Fitzgibbon's bill was anticipated. The Senior Minister has spoken about this matter since December 2022 and has commented on it extensively since then. Guideline: Wants to push Quebec towards energy sobriety, accelerating the development of new electricity production as well as simplifying and loosening standards for private companies to produce energy to meet their own and other companies' needs.
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