Growth in Electricity Demand Expected to Continue in Québec

November 11, 2022

In the Electricity Supply Plan 2023–2032 (in French only) that it filed with the Régie de l’énergie, Hydro-Québec anticipates an increase of 25 terawatthours (TWh) or 14% in Québec’s electricity demand over the 2022–2032 period. 

This increase is due to several factors, many of which relate to the energy transition:

  • Organic growth: +4.3 TWh*
  • Building/industrial process conversion: +4.5 TWh
  • Emerging markets, including data centers (4.1 TWh), green hydrogen production (2.3 TWh), battery components for electric vehicles (1.2 TWh) and greenhouse farming (0.7 TWh): +8.9 TWh
  • New technologies:
    • Photovoltaic solar: −0.7 TWh
    • Transportation electrification: +7.8 TWh

*TWh: one billion kilowatthours

The sum of the values may differ from the total because of rounding.

Hydro-Québec has already begun to implement the necessary measures to meet the increased demand.

1. Energy efficiency and demand response tools

The anticipated growth takes into account significant energy efficiency efforts that will make it possible to curtail 8.9 TWh by 2032. Hydro-Québec programs such as the Efficient Heat Pump Program for residential customers and the Efficient Solutions Program for business customers will help optimize electricity use.

In addition, demand response tools will help us manage winter peaks, i.e., the coldest hours during the winter when electricity use rises sharply. In total, the tools available to our various customer segments will help curtail more than 3,000 megawatts (MW) in winter 2031-2032—the equivalent of the capacity of La Grande-4 generating station, the second largest among our 62 hydroelectric facilities in terms of capacity. Demand response tools include Hilo and dynamic pricing, as well as the Demand Response (DR) Option offered to business customers.

2. New calls for tenders

To meet the growing demand, Hydro-Québec will have to add energy and capacity to its supply portfolio. To that end, two new calls for tenders—one for 300 MW of wind power and the other for 480 MW of renewable energy—are already underway. Two more, for 1,000 MW of wind power and 1,300 MW of renewable energy, respectively, will be launched in the next few months, and others will follow in the coming years to meet the needs set out in the Electricity Supply Plan 2023–2032.

3. Proactive management of our generation resources

In recent years, Hydro-Québec has also taken steps to increase the capacity of its generating fleet and enhance other sources of supply to which it has access. These include commissioning Romaine-4 generating station, increasing the capacity of some of its existing hydroelectric facilities, creating a 3,000-MW portfolio of wind power projects and purchasing the output of generating stations owned and operated by Evolugen.

Request to suspend the allocation of electricity to the blockchain industry

Lastly, in light of the significant increase in the anticipated demand for electricity and the tightening energy and capacity balances, Hydro-Québec filed a request with the Régie de l’énergie regarding suspension of the allocation process to the blockchain industry. Under this process, approximately 270 MW were slated to be dedicated to cryptographic use over the short term, but the allocation of that amount of capacity to this use would increase pressure on current balances.

Source

Related Articles


Latest Articles


Changing Scene

  • Skills Ontario Supports Ontario’s Investments in Skilled Trades in Budget Announcement

    Skills Ontario Supports Ontario’s Investments in Skilled Trades in Budget Announcement

    March 28. 2024 As demand for skilled trades professionals rises, Skills Ontario is commending the government for continued investments in skilled trades and technology programing, working to address the shortfall and need to build the workforce of the future in Ontario.  The skilled trades shortage is costing Ontario approximately $25 billion in foregone GDP. A… Read More…

  • IVRY Launches 7 New VR Lessons

    IVRY Launches 7 New VR Lessons

     IVRY Technologies, a division of IDEAL Electrical, is launching seven new virtual reality (VR) lessons in Canada as part of its Virtual Electrical Training (VET) Series 2 training module. The cutting-edge training will serve as a learning resource for International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) training centers across Canada. Read More…

  • PEI Budget 2024 Signals Continued Focus on Healthcare, Housing and Affordability for all Islanders 

    PEI Budget 2024 Signals Continued Focus on Healthcare, Housing and Affordability for all Islanders 

    March 28, 2024 Hon. Jill Burridge, Minister of Finance, presented government’s 2024-25 operating budget to the legislative assembly, outlining $3.2 billion in investments for Prince Edward Island with a continued focus on healthcare, housing and affordability measures. “This budget signals where we’re headed as a province and shows Islanders where we will be making key… Read More…

  • BC’s Budget 2024 Prioritizes Actions for Low-Carbon Economy

    BC’s Budget 2024 Prioritizes Actions for Low-Carbon Economy

    March 28, 2024 Josie Osborne, Minister of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation, and Brittny Anderson, MLA for Nelson-Creston, met with community climate leaders in Nelson to discuss how Budget 2024 can help support people in the region to transition to a low-carbon economy and meet shared CleanBC goals. “Our government’s budget this year reflects the… Read More…