While a cold snap is expected in Quebec at the start of next week, Quebecers are invited to turn down the heating a little. But acting preventatively could also be the solution.
During the nights of Monday to Tuesday and Tuesday to Wednesday, the mercury should drop to –25°C, according to Environment Canada forecasts. The state company therefore expects that on Tuesday and Wednesday morning, electricity demand will reach approximately 41,500 megawatts (MW), particularly between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m.
According to the spokesperson for the state-owned company, Cendrix Bouchard, even if the network will be put under pressure, Hydro-Québec will have the capacity to respond to this demand. We are still far from the historic peak of February 3, 2023, he explains. Demand had exceeded the 43,000 MW mark that day.
In order to relieve the network, the state company, however, asks its subscribers to take a few measures, such as lowering the home thermostat by one or two degrees for residential customers. It also invites them to delay electricity-intensive tasks such as charging an electric car or using household appliances (washer, dryer, dishwasher). The importance of using smart thermostats is also recalled, because it mitigates the effect of falling temperatures.
Improve buildings
One way to protect against cold waves would also be to act in prevention and improve the thermal envelope of buildings in order to make them less sensitive to temperature variations, explains Pierre-Olivier Pineau, holder of the Chair in Energy Management. energy sector of HEC Montréal.
“If we were targeting passive buildings, which need 15 kWh/year/m2 for heating compared to 120 kWh for the average of residential buildings in Quebec, we would not only make very large energy savings, but we would not have such pronounced peaks in consumption during extreme cold. »
According to Mr. Pineau, developing high-efficiency wood heating systems (low pollutants) or renewable natural gas for extreme cold would also be a solution to these peaks.
Not the government’s priority
The specialist in energy-related issues also regrets that the government is very slow to put in place regulations on the energy performance of residential buildings. He points in particular to Bill 41, which is slow to be implemented.
-“It is also not worth acting firmly on the building code (to require passive or high-performance buildings). We also want to keep electricity prices low and very simple tariffs… which does not help at all for energy efficiency efforts and peak management,” he says.
Recently, in the pages of Dutyhe was in favor of raising rates for Hydro-Québec’s residential customers.
A power tariff for residential customers?
Pierre-Olivier Pineau also puts forward the idea of having a power rate for residential customers to send a structural signal to manage the peak.
“Commercial and industrial customers have a power rate, and this greatly limits their peaks,” he explains. The issue at the tip in Quebec is a residential issue. We are doing everything we can to disconnect these consumers from this problem, except during extreme cold, when we ask for voluntary participation,” he says.
According to Hydro-Québec, the effort made by “business” customers represents approximately two-thirds (647 MW) of the 1,000 MW displaced during cold waves, or the equivalent of the consumption of 92,500 residences.
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