On October 14, 2014, the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources and the Minister Responsible for the Northern Plan, Mr. Pierre Arcand, and the Minister of the Economy, Innovation and Exports, Mr. Jacques Daoust, introduced Québec's strategy to use its electricity surpluses: a 20% discount on the current industrial electricity rates to encourage investments and new projects in the province.
In order to benefit from this reduced tariff, projects will need to meet the requirements of the government, including that the electricity costs of any such project amount to at least 10% of such project's operation costs, and that the 20% discount be available to power loads of at least 1 MW. The reduced tariff will have a duration of 10 years including a transition period back to the regular tariffs at the end of such period.
Hydro-Québec will submit the details of this reduced tariff to the Régie de l'énergie for approval. Pending the Québec energy regulator's approval, this measure should notably stimulate sectors heavily dependent on energy use such as metallurgy, copper and steel transformation.
To view original article, please click here.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
