(Quebec) There will be “significant increases” in Hydro-Québec rates within five to ten years, recognizes the Minister of Economy and Energy, Pierre Fitzgibbon.
Published at 12:31 pm
The state-owned company plans investments between $155 and $185 billion by 2035 to double its production and decarbonize Quebec.
As the spending is phased in, “there will be no price shock” within five years, Mr Fitzgibbon said on the sidelines of a council of ministers meeting on Wednesday.
PHOTOGRAPH BY ROBERT SKINNER, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Pierre Fitzgibbon
Legault’s government has decided to cap residential rates at 3% per year until 2026. “As long as I am Prime Minister, rates for Quebecers will not rise by more than 3% per year,” a said François Legault on social networks.
But, “in five or ten years, there will be significant increases,” said Pierre Fitzgibbon. The question then becomes how we allocate investment costs between industrial, commercial and residential. It is a big debate as you know. »
He specified that “we want to do everything so that the price shocks are as smooth as possible”.
Electricity rates could increase by 5.6% to 9% per year from 2028, according to projections from the Consumers Union published in The Montreal magazine Wednesday.