Faced with electricity demands that now exceed its capacities, the time has come for Quebec to think about the use it will make of it in the future. But whatever happens, believes Minister Pierre Fitzgibbon, the launch of new major hydroelectric projects would be premature.
• Read also: Record profits of $2.06 billion at Hydro-Québec in the first quarter of 2022
• Read also: Bonuses in state corporations: Quebec does not intend to affect senior executives
On the sidelines of a speech before the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal yesterday, Quebec’s Minister of Economy and Innovation was cautious when asked about how we could best benefit economically from businesses. willing to settle in the province in return for a guaranteed supply of electricity.
Opportunities to seize
“Shouldn’t the government start thinking about building new dams? “, he was asked. On this, Minister Fitzgibbon had this answer: “it is still too early to talk about that”.
Before getting there, he believes that other avenues should be considered. “Can we consume less? “, he suggests first.
Then, he continues, “the [existing] turbines can be adjusted”, “wind power […] can be complementary”, then projects could accept “interruptions during peak periods”.
In short, “several initiatives” can be considered before coming to the construction of dams, he says. “But it’s clear that we have to work on that now. […] Because if it is good news to lack electricity [result of a strong demand from industrialists], we must find it because we do not want to lose opportunities. »
– With Sylvain Larocque
1
