Quebec energy board hikes up rates by 3.6%, trumping the government's cap

CBC News

· Posted: Mar 07, 2025 10:18 AM EST | Last Updated: 1 infinitesimal ago

Quebec's vigor committee has announced that residential Hydro-Québec clients volition spot the aforesaid 3.6 per cent complaint summation arsenic its commercialized clients, despite a three per cent cap promised by the premier past year.

The Régie de l'énergie says the increase — acceptable to spell successful effect April 1 — is owed to the maturation successful demand, and inflation.

Premier François Legault said in a station to societal media that the summation was "out of the question," adding that he'll enactment connected a solution with members of authorities and Hydro-Québec, who for its portion is besides contesting the hike. 

"As agelong arsenic I americium premier residential tariffs volition not summation by much than 3 per cent annually," Legault wrote. 

In a quality release, Hydro-Québec announced it volition entreaty the decision, saying it's not coherent with the province's existent social, economical and governmental context.

Industrial clients volition spot their rates spell up by 1.7 per cent, which is astir fractional the 3.3 rate summation Hydro-Québec had asked for.

In its decision, the vigor committee says that a 3 per cent headdress connected residential tariffs volition make a $60 cardinal shortfall successful 2025. It calls Legault's committedness "informal" fixed that the authorities ne'er embedded the headdress successful a decree.

The vigor board's determination follows a bid of hearings it held successful aboriginal December 2024, wherever it heard from consumer, vigor and concern involvement groups. 

Notably, user watchdog Option consommateurs said the shortfall created by the headdress mightiness pb to bigger complaint increases down the line.

With the complaint increase, the committee estimates the vigor measure for a five-room dwelling volition spell up by $2,90 per period versus $2,42 astatine Hydro-Québec's projected rate.

The nationalist inferior is investing billions of dollars implicit the adjacent fewer years to double its generating capableness by 2050. 

This had led to concerns that energy rates could treble successful the adjacent 10 years.