Pressure mounts to freeze Hydro-Québec rates

The Coalition Avenir Québec government is facing pressure from opposition parties and groups to freeze hydroelectricity rates.

Ruba Ghazal with Québec solidaire outlined her party’s expectations Monday ahead of the upcoming provincial budget.

She called for a freeze of Hydro-Québec rates after the state-owned company announced that it would increase them this year, and in 2023 in line with inflation.

“I have people (…) who talk to me about their exploding grocery bills, their rising rents, the Hydro-Québec bill,” Ghazal said. “Everything costs more.”

The Quebec Liberal Party also called for a suspension in raising electricity rates on Sunday.

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This comes as the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, Option consommateurs and the Association québécoise des consommateurs industriels d’électricité have all demanded a freeze on electricity rates.

The organizations and the opposition parties also want the Quebec government to call on the Régie de l’énergie to ensure that consumers do not pay more than is necessary to Hydro-Québec, which has a monopoly on electricity in the province.

In January, inflation in Canada exceeded 5 per cent for the first time since September 1991, according to Statistics Canada. In comparison, the overall Consumer Price Index had increased by 1 per cent in January 2021.

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The three organizations pointed to the fact that Hydro-Québec made profits of $3.5 billion in 2021. They estimate the Crown corporation would be seeking about an additional $600 million from Quebecers in 2023.

Quebec Finance Minister Eric Girard is set to present the government’s budget on March 22.