Except translation, this story has not been edited by achinews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.
Hydro-Quebec says it plans to charge higher rates for large homes that use “excessive” amounts of electricity as part of an action plan to encourage Quebecers to use energy efficiently.
It was one of 40 commitments the Crown corporation made in its 2035 action plan unveiled Thursday, which came out of eight months of discussions with stakeholders across the province, including the general public, environmental groups, energy experts and Indigenous communities.
“We are not talking about ordinary houses or large houses with people with good habits. We are talking about very large houses with electrical equipment such as heated roads or heated pools, or a combination of different equipment that can consume a lot of energy.” Maxence Hoard-Lefebvre, a spokesman for Hydro-Québec, said in an interview.
The plan lists five of Hydro-Québec’s priorities for the next decade. It identified its two top priorities: improving the quality of its service and using energy more efficiently.
Huard-Lefebvre told CTV News they saw in their public consultation that energy efficiency is an important issue for Quebecers
“Yes, we will have to build new sources of production such as wind farms, but we will have to be very ambitious in energy efficiency plans,” Hoard-Lefebvre said.
He noted that Hydro-Quebec announced on Thursday that it will invest $10-12 billion in various energy efficiency programs.
Hydro-Quebec plans to offer better rates on a voluntary basis to households that commit to better electricity consumption habits, such as charging an electric car at night.
“We want people to have options in order to develop good habits regarding their energy consumption and to avoid wasting energy,” said Howard-Lefebvre.
Huard-Lefebvre says Hydro-Quebec has not yet spelled out the specific criteria that will be considered “increased” consumption.
Nicolas Gagnon, Quebec director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, believes that a rate increase for large houses is unnecessary given the current rate system.
“The point is that in Quebec we already have a tariff that is adjusted to the consumption of each household,” he told CTV News.
“So if, for example, you have a house of a certain size, you already pay more for electricity than most people. We already have a fair system in Quebec. What Hydro-Québec is trying to do is increase its revenue, instead of seeing what happens with their expenses.”
He added that he felt every Quebecer should have access to affordable energy. “This should be Hydro-Québec’s main mandate right now,” he added.
According to its action plan, Hydro-Québec’s third priority until 2035 is increasing supply, followed by improving its relationship with First Nations and Inuit communities and improving its transparency to the public.
Huard-Lefebvre said the corporation will provide more details on the new rate system in the coming weeks.
(Except translation, this story has not been edited by achinews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
source link https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/hydro-quebec-plans-to-charge-higher-rates-for-large-homes-that-use-excessive-amount-of-electricity-1.6936584
