73% of manufacturing companies will have to delay development projects or investments already planned, according to a survey.
• Read also: The “quiet privatization” of energy in Quebec
• Read also: The CAQ’s energy transition: the Quebec people must be consulted
• Read also: Reserves are becoming scarce: Hydro-Québec no longer has any room for maneuver
This is what emerges from a survey carried out by Manufacturiers et Exportateurs du Québec (MEQ), among 114 companies.
Remember that Energy Minister Pierre Fitzgibbon, who must present an important bill on the province’s energy framework in the coming days, admitted last April that the government was “taken by surprise” by the shortage of electricity that Quebec is about to experience.
Produce their own electricity
In response to the lack of electricity, companies see self-production as a solution. In fact, 82% of them are in favor of this option to meet their energy needs, in particular because self-production would avoid possible service interruptions.
However, given the complexity of implementation and the costs that this solution involves, only a third of companies are considering it. This proportion increases to 50% among companies with 500 employees or more.
Manufacturers and industrialists also evaluate self-production through power purchase programs between two companies (PPA). Nearly half (41%) of the companies surveyed believe it is likely to purchase energy produced by another company. A quarter (26%) could consider selling the energy they produce.
“Self-production and PPAs must be part of the solution to support the growth and productivity of Quebec’s manufacturing industry,” says Véronique Proulx, president and CEO of Manufacturiers et Exportateurs du Québec.
Worried about price increases
Businesses are also worried about possible future electricity rate increases. The organization recalls that the medium-power industrial and commercial tariff has increased by approximately 12% over the last two years, and that the large-power industrial tariff has increased by approximately 8% during the same period.
Four out of 10 companies (37%) also say that Hydro-Québec’s increase in industrial rates will have a significant impact on their competitiveness. Among companies with 500 employees or more, the proportion rises to 52%.
“Industries face intense competition on a global scale. Predictable and fair electricity bills are therefore essential to maintain the competitiveness of Quebec’s industries,” underlines Jocelyn B. Allard, president of the Quebec Association of Industrial Electricity Consumers (AQCIE), who collaborated on the survey.
