Quebec, Ontario sign $1-billion annual hydroelectricity agreement

Quebec and Ontario have signed a $1-billion annual hydroelectricity deal.

READ MORE: Ontario seniors forced to move due to sky high hydro rates

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne and Quebec’s Philippe Couillard met Thursday for the official signing ceremony for the agreement, which was announced in October.

READ MORE: Ontario Energy Board rejects auditor’s call to clarify global adjustment on hydro bills

The deal allows Ontario to import up to two terawatt hours of electricity annually over seven years from Quebec – or enough energy to power a city of roughly 200,000 people.

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READ MORE: Food bank users unable to afford rising hydro rates, group says

Wynne said Ontario will save $70 million over the life of the deal versus previous energy cost forecasts and that the province’s annual greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced by about one million tonnes a year.

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Couillard said the agreement serves as a model for future deals between Quebec and other provinces.

READ MORE: Exclusive: Hydro One to reconnect more than 1,400 customers currently without power

Ontario is also scheduled to join Quebec and California’s cap-and-trade carbon market in January.