MONTREAL — Quebecers can expect to see a hike in their electricity bills, as Hydro-Quebec announced it is increasing its rates by 2.9 per cent, starting April 1.
According to Hydro-Quebec, this means a residential customer with an average consumption of 19,218 kWh/year will see an annual bill increase by about $44 or $3.60 per month.
Quebec’s consumer rights advocacy group said the government needed to do more to help low-income families, noting that in 2014, more than 70,000 households were disconnected because residents were unable to pay their electricity bills.
“With the new rate increase, Quebecers will have even more difficulty meeting their obligations,” said Olivier Bourgeois, a spokesperson for Option consommateurs.
To this end, it noted that Quebec’s energy board has asked Hydro-Quebec to be more flexible when negotiating payment agreements and to lower its administrative costs, currently set at 14.4 per cent.
The electricity increase is higher than Canada’s annual inflation rate, which slowed to 1.0 per cent in January.
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