2023-09-26 04:00:00
By the end of the next two decades, our additional electricity needs will amount to 100 TWh (100 billion kilowatt hours). This is equivalent to the production of the James Bay hydroelectric complex (La Grande, Eastmain-1, Eastmain-1-A and Sarcelle-Rupert).
We talk. Do you know how much it would cost today to build a similar hydroelectric complex? Possibly three times more expensive than at the time, or 80 to 90 billion dollars, instead of the 27 billion spent during the three construction phases between 1973 and 2002.
On what basis do I arrive at this astronomical sum of $80 to $90 billion? On the cost of construction of the last hydroelectric complex built by Hydro-Québec, La Romaine. We are talking here regarding $900 million per TWh produced.
Legault’s dream
Notice to Roy Dupuis, our famous actor-activist-environmentalist and to all Quebec environmentalists: the projects to build new electric dams that François Legault dreams of are likely to multiply over the coming years.
To make his dream come true, François Legault found his “man” by appointing as head of Hydro-Québec none other than Michael Sabia, the former CEO of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and former federal deputy minister of Finance to whom we owe Justin Trudeau’s famous “Canada’s economic response plan to respond to COVID-19”.
Listen to the economy segment with Michel Girard via QUB radio :
Recognized as a very seasoned manager, Sabia is not afraid of controversy. And when he has a project in mind, nothing can stop him. Let’s take it for granted!
Words from François Legault: “We haven’t done a lot of major work at Hydro-Québec in the last 25 years. But, prepare yourself. Michael (Sabia) works very, very hard. There will be a lot of announcements for dams, upgrade dams, wind power. »
On the table…
This suggests that the state corporation has several large-scale hydroelectric projects on its work table that are capable of meeting Quebec’s enormous future needs in terms of electricity production capacity.
Quebec’s transition to a low-carbon economy, the electrification of transport, the establishment of new battery factories for electric cars, the “green” transformation of industries already established, the growth of exports to the United States, etc. . have the effect of significantly increasing the demand for our electricity.
Photo d’archives, Simon Clark
According to the “2022-2026 Strategic Plan”, more than 100 TWh of additional clean electricity will be required by 2050 to allow Quebec to achieve carbon neutrality.
This represents more than half of Hydro’s current annual production capacity.
Gone are the days of surplus electricity.
Costs are exploding
Thanks to our hydroelectric heritage, we have until now been able to benefit from historically low and stable electricity supply costs. To supply the Quebec market, we rely on a block of 165 TWh of heritage electricity which is supplied to us at the advantageous price of 3¢/kWh.
Future purchases of electricity intended to meet future needs will cost enormously more, warns Hydro-Québec in its strategic plan.
As proof, the average cost of post-heritage energy and power supplies, taking into account contracts in force and planned purchases on short and long-term markets, currently stands at 11¢/kWh
Conclusion
“The investments required to strengthen our network and enable it to accommodate growth will be considerable, especially as some of our assets are aging and will therefore need to be replaced or modernized. As a result, we are beginning a new cycle of significant investments which will be spread over several years,” we indicate in the 2022-2026 Strategic Plan.
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