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143-560: Hydro-Québec is a Canadian Crown corporation public utility headquartered in Montreal , Quebec. It manages the generation , transmission and distribution of electricity in Quebec, as well as the export of power to portions of the Northeast United States . More than 40 percent of Canada ’s water resources are in Quebec and Hydro-Québec is the fourth largest hydropower producer in

286-440: A $ 100 million loan. $ 60 million from that loan went to Hydro-Québec. The loan faced controversy in the Quebec legislature. Major projects during this period included: Because of the economic climate, demand for electricity dropped significantly in the early 1980s, which led to structural changes at Hydro-Québec. It became a joint stock company whose sole shareholder is Government of Québec , to which it pays an annual dividend. It

429-598: A certain expertise in the field but advocated delaying nuclear expansion as late as possible. The Quebec premier received an unexpected backing when the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR , Alexei Kosygin visited Montreal in October 1971. Kosygin supported Bourassa's project and expressed concerns regarding his country's own nuclear power, explaining his country had to develop

572-572: A demonstration version of its Indica model, which will be road tested in Norway . Crown corporations of Canada#Quebec Crown corporations ( French : Société de la Couronne ) are government organizations in Canada with a mixture of commercial and public-policy objectives. They are directly and wholly owned by the Crown (i.e. the government of Canada or a province). Crown corporations represent

715-590: A fully privatized company. The first Crown corporation was the Board of Works, established in 1841 by the Province of Canada to construct shipping canals. The first major Canadian experience with directly state-owned enterprises came during the early growth of the railways . The first Canadian Crown corporation after confederation was the Canadian National Railway Company , created in 1922. During

858-592: A further 5,200 MW of generating capacity by the end of 1996. Premier Bourassa estimated that this phase would create 40,000 construction job-years (equivalent to 4,000 jobs lasting 10 years). Three new reservoirs covering an area of 1,600 km were created, including the Laforge-1 Reservoir covering 1,288 km . The generating plants of this second phase of the project produce about 18.9 TWh of power per year, operating at between 60% and 70% of their maximum rated generating capacity. On March 13, 1989,

1001-521: A guaranteed peak capacity of 34,342 MW—at a set price of 2.79¢ per kWh. Order in council 1277-2001 specifies quantities to be delivered for each of the 8,760 hourly intervals, which vary from 11,420 to 34,342 MW. According to the 2017 annual report the workforce stood at 19,786 employees, both permanent and temporary workers. And, a total of 1,304 employees were hired. In 1981, the Parti Québécois government redefined Hydro-Québec's mission by modifying

1144-636: A licence to sell wholesale electricity at market prices, enabling Hydro-Québec to expand its market. Hydro-Québec also acquired a substantial share of Noverco , controller of natural gas distributor Gaz Métro , to participate in that market in northeastern North America. In 2002 the Agreement Respecting a New Relationship Between the Cree Nation and the Government of Quebec between the Grand Council of

1287-463: A lobby spearheaded by the Canadian government and its nuclear venture, Atomic Energy of Canada Limited , promoted the adoption of nuclear energy in Quebec, as a way to "share the benefits of Canada with our fellow francophone citizens", as Canadian Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson said. The lobby had its supporters within the ranks at Hydro-Québec, and has been vocal when the provincial government made

1430-542: A mandate (by royal charter) to govern a specific territory called a charter colony , and the head of this colony, called a proprietary governor , was both a business manager and the governing authority in the area. The first colonies on the island of Newfoundland were founded in this manner, between 1610 and 1728. Canada's most famous and influential chartered company was the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), founded on May 2, 1670, by royal charter of King Charles II . The HBC became

1573-697: A massive solar storm caused a failure of the La Grande complex, plunging most of Quebec into darkness for nine hours. During the construction of the second phase of the James Bay Project, Hydro-Québec proposed an additional project on the Great Whale River (French: Grande rivière de la Baleine ), just to the north of the La Grande River watershed. Opposition among the Cree was even more vocal this time than in

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1716-486: A network of 112,089 kilometres (69,649 mi) of medium and low voltage lines. The division is the sole electric distributor across the province, with the exception of 9 municipal distribution networks — in Alma , Amos , Baie-Comeau , Coaticook , Joliette , Magog , Saguenay , Sherbrooke and Westmount —and the electric cooperative of Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Rouville . Hydro-Québec Distribution buys most of its power from

1859-465: A partisan crowd assembled at Quebec's Little Coliseum as part of the Liberal party gathering celebrating the first year of Bourassa's term, on April 30, 1971. According to journalists witnessing the scene, Bourassa's speech concluded on a scene of indescribable enthusiasm. The announcement quickly generated a public debate on the wisdom to engage the province on such a large-scale project. For several years,

2002-556: A relevant minister for the conduct of its affairs. Although these corporations are owned by the Crown, they are operated with much greater managerial autonomy than government departments. While they report to Parliament via the relevant minister in Cabinet , they are "shielded from constant government intervention and legislative oversight" and thus "generally enjoy greater freedom from direct political control than government departments." Direct control over operations are only exerted over

2145-681: A rival union organizer’s teenager or strangle their dog." Desjardins was called before the Cliche commission several times starting in November 1974, where it was established that he was closely associated with the Montreal Mafia, and engaged in thuggish practices as president of the Conseil des métiers de la construction union. Although the Aboriginal Crees had traditional hunting and trapping areas in

2288-599: A royal commission headed by Judge Robert Cliche , the union official Guy Chevrette and a prominent Montreal labor lawyer Brian Mulroney to examine the question of freedom of expression within Quebec construction unions. The Cliche commission as it became known found widespread corruption within the construction unions as the columnist Peggy Curran wrote that the Cliche commission uncovered "...tales of nepotism, bribery, sabotage, blackmail and intimidation; charges of union organizers with criminal records who gave lessons in how to break legs; thugs-for-hire who would happily beat up

2431-573: A specific form of state-owned enterprise . Each corporation is ultimately accountable to (federal or provincial) Parliament through a relevant minister for the conduct of its affairs. They are established by an Act of Parliament and report to that body via the relevant minister in Cabinet , though they are "shielded from constant government intervention and legislative oversight" and thus "generally enjoy greater freedom from direct political control than government departments." Crown corporations are distinct from "departmental corporations" such as

2574-500: A stylized "Q" fashioned out of a circle and a lightning bolt, was designed by Montreal -based design agency Gagnon/Valkus in 1960. In 2018, it paid CA$ 2.39 billion in dividends to its sole shareholder , the Government of Quebec. Its residential power rates are among the lowest in North America. In Quebec , advocates for the creation of a public hydroelectric utility protested against high costs, poor rural electrification , and

2717-484: A symbol of modern Quebec, helping to create the Quiet Revolution of the 1960s where French-speakers in Quebec rose to positions of influence in the industrial economy for the first time, and Quebec nationalism emerged as a political force. This model followed by SaskPower in 1944 and BC Hydro in 1961. Other areas provinces were active in included insurance ( Saskatchewan Government Insurance , 1945) In Alberta,

2860-576: A target of 25% of cars sold in 2020 to be electric. The plan also called for provincial utility company Hydro-Quebec to develop a strategy for the deployment of public charging infrastructure. This resulted in the creation of "The Electric Circuit" ( French : Le Circuit Électrique ), the largest public network of charging stations for electric vehicles in Quebec . The first 30 charging stations were put into use in March 2012. The network's first 400V fast charger

3003-649: A team led by H. M. Finlayson conducted water surveys of the Nottaway , Broadback and Rupert Rivers —collectively known by the abbreviation NBR—on behalf of the Shawinigan Water & Power Company , a large investor-owned utility based in Shawinigan , Quebec. Among options studied by Shawinigan's engineers was the possible diversion of these rivers to the Saint-Maurice River watershed in order to increase output at

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3146-453: A third in snow. Highest monthly rainfall is registered in the summer and snow depths vary from 50 to 100 cm (20-40 in) in the winter. Precipitations are significantly lower than the annual average of 1,050 mm (41 in) recorded in Montreal. The area lies in the zone of discontinuous permafrost , whose depth is significantly reduced by the deep snow cover. The natural seismicity of

3289-512: A total of 8.5 TWh of electricity at the new and existing power stations. Former Grand Chief of the Crees (Eeyou Istchee) Matthew Mukash (elected in late 2005 and served until 2009) opposed the Rupert River diversion and favoured the construction of wind turbines. The hydro-electric stations in the La Grande watershed are: Although there was no environmental impact assessment legislation before

3432-511: A way to increase the government's annual dividend without resorting to privatization. Others, like columnist Bertrand Tremblay of Saguenay 's Le Quotidien , claim that privatization would signal a drift to the days when Quebec's natural resources were sold in bulk to foreigners at ridiculously low prices. "For too long, Tremblay writes, Quebec was somewhat of a banana republic, almost giving away its forestry and water resources. In turn, those foreign interests were exporting our jobs associated with

3575-467: Is a possibility that the damming project has contributed to northern Quebec's Cree having the highest measured methyl-mercury concentration of all Canadian First Nations. Because of the simultaneous mercury contamination in James Bay from other activities in the area, including paper milling, the direct effect of the project on mercury levels has been difficult to ascertain. From 1981 to 1982, a few years after

3718-645: Is also responsible for the production of power in remote communities not connected to the main power grid. The division operates an off-grid hydroelectric dam serving communities on the Lower North Shore and 23 small diesel power plants in the Magdalen Islands , in Haute-Mauricie and in Nunavik . In April 2011 the government of Quebec published a plan to encourage the adoption of electric vehicles, setting

3861-409: Is by far the largest source, followed by wind (2.16%) and biomass, biogas and waste (0.75%). The remainder came from nuclear (0.19%) and thermal (0.12%) generation. Emissions of carbon dioxide (1,130 tonnes/TWh), sulfur dioxide (4 tonnes/TWh) and nitrogen oxides (10 tonnes/TWh) were between 49 and 238 times lower than the industry average in northeastern North America. Imported electricity bought on

4004-798: Is established or operated by the King in Right of Ontario or the Government of Ontario , or under the authority of the Legislature or the Lieutenant Governor -in-Council. Finances Quebec published a list 60 Quebec Crown corporations ( French : sociétés d'État ) in June 2017. The following entities were among those listed: Several private Canadian companies were once Crown corporations, while others have gone defunct. James Bay Project Construction costs of

4147-595: Is further exacerbated by humans consuming this built up store of mercury. The James Bay Mercury Agreement, signed in 1986 between the Grand Council of the Crees (of Québec), the Cree Regional Authority , the Cree Bands, the Government of Québec , Hydro-Québec and the Société d’énergie de la Baie James ( James Bay Energy ), aims "to restore and strengthen Cree fisheries [...] but [...] also adequately take into account

4290-419: Is most affected by the hydroelectric project from January to April because rivers have their lowest runoff rates in the winter months when freezing occurs. Additionally, runoff rates in the damming system can be altered to meet power needs, which are highest in the winter and lowest in the summer, thereby more completely reversing the natural water flow cycle. As evidenced by the 500% increase in its winter runoff,

4433-409: Is often seen by Quebecers as a national success story and a source of pride. This could explain why various privatization proposals in the past have received little public attention. The liberal government has repeatedly stated that Hydro-Québec is not for sale. Like many other economists, Yvan Allaire, from Montreal's Hautes études commerciales business school, advocate increased electricity rates as

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4576-586: Is one of these. The heir to the Couture wheel motor is now marketed by TM4 Electrodynamic Systems , a spin-off established in 1998 that has made deals with France's Dassault and Heuliez to develop an electric car, the Cleanova , of which prototypes were built in 2006. Hydro-Québec announced in early 2009 at the Montreal International Auto Show that its engine had been chosen by Tata Motors to equip

4719-870: Is part of the Canadian Shield and is largely made up of Precambrian igneous and metamorphic rocks . Relief has been eroded by successive glaciations in the Pleistocene era, as recently as 6,000 years ago, leaving depositions of loose materials: moraines , clay , silt and sand and reshaped the hydrography of the territory. The region's climate is subarctic . Winters are long and last, on average, from October 22 to May 4. Summers are short and mild, with temperatures averaging 13.6 °C (56.5 °F) in July, while dropping to −22.9 °C (−9.2 °F) in January. Annual precipitation averages 765 mm (30.1 in),

4862-452: The 2008 election campaign . A Léger Marketing poll conducted in November 2008 found that a majority of Quebec respondents (53%) were opposed to his proposal to sell 7.5% of the company's equity to Quebec citizens and businesses, while 38% were in favour. Commenting on the issue on Guy A. Lepage 's talk show , former PQ Premier Jacques Parizeau estimated that such an idea would be quite unpopular in public opinion, adding that Hydro-Québec

5005-751: The Canada Revenue Agency . Crown corporations have a long-standing presence in the country and have been instrumental in its formation. They can provide services required by the public that otherwise would not be economically viable as a private enterprise or that do not fit exactly within the scope of any ministry. They are involved in everything from the distribution, use, and price of certain goods and services to energy development, resource extraction, public transportation, cultural promotion, and property management . As of 2022 , there were 47 federal Crown corporations in Canada. Provinces and territories operate their own Crown corporations independently of

5148-552: The Eastern Interconnection . Although Quebec uses the same 60 hertz frequency as the rest of North America, its grid does not use the same phase as surrounding networks. TransÉnergie mainly relies on back to back HVDC converters to export or import electricity from other jurisdictions. This feature of the Quebec network allowed Hydro-Québec to remain unscathed during the Northeast Blackout of August 14, 2003 , with

5291-944: The La Grande-2-A generator stations. Output will be 918 MW. Other stations commissioned since 1997 are: In 1988, all of Quebec and parts of New England and New Brunswick lost power because of an equipment failure at a substation on the North Shore . The March 1989 geomagnetic storm tripped circuit breakers on the transmission network causing a nine-hour Quebec-wide blackout. In the North American ice storm of 1998 , five days of freezing rain collapsed 600 kilometres (370 mi) of high voltage power lines and over 3,000 kilometres (1,900 mi) of medium and low voltage distribution lines in southern Quebec. Up to 1.4 million customers were without power for up to five weeks. Hydro-Québec has created separate business units dealing with

5434-658: The Montreal area. Duplessis's conservative reign, now known as the Grande Noirceur , ended when he died in office in 1959. The subsequent election of the Quebec Liberal Party , led by Jean Lesage , marked the beginning of the Quiet Revolution , a period of reform and modernization. In 1962, the US government lent Quebec $ 300 million. The funds were used to acquire independent power companies. The new government gave Hydro-Québec an exclusive mandate to develop new sites. In 1963

5577-658: The Québec interconnection of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation system, and is part of the Northeast Power Coordinating Council (NPCC). TransÉnergie manages the flow of energy on the Quebec network and ensures non-discriminatory access to all participants involved in the wholesale market. The non-discriminatory access policy allows a company such as Nalcor to sell some of its share of power from Churchill Falls on

5720-649: The Rupert River , to the south of the Eastmain River. The project entails the diversion of about 50% of the total water flow of the Rupert River (and 70% of the flow at the diversion point) towards the Eastmain Reservoir and into the La Grande Complex, and the construction of two additional generating stations: Eastmain-1A and Sarcelle, with a combined capacity of 888 MW. The Rupert diversion would generate

5863-554: The State of New York withdrew from a multibillion-dollar power purchasing agreement due to public outcry and a decrease in energy requirements. In 1994, the Government of Quebec and Hydro-Québec suspended the project indefinitely. In 2002, the Quebec government and the Grand Council of the Crees signed a landmark agreement, " La Paix des Braves " (literally "The Peace of the Braves"), ensuring

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6006-467: The conservative think tank The Montreal Economic Institute —have often raised the issue, claiming that the company could be better managed by the private sector and that the proceeds from a sale would lower public debt . Without going as far as Boyer and Garcia, Mario Dumont , the head of the Action démocratique du Québec , briefly discussed the possibility of selling a minority stake of Hydro-Québec during

6149-523: The generation , transmission , distribution and construction. In 2017, production division generated 1.9B $ of net income (68.4%), transmission division 0.55B$ (19.4%), distribution division 0.33B $ (11.7%), and construction division did not generate any income. Hydro-Quebec redistributes all profits back to the government. In 2017, the crown corporation contributed $ 4 billion to the Quebec government by means of net income ($ 2.8B), royalties ($ 0.7B), public utilities tax ($ 0.3B) and debt securities ($ 0.2B). In

6292-507: The taiga to perform surveys and geological studies to identify potential sites for hydropower development. Faced with budget concerns, Hydro-Québec did cut back exploration budgets between 1968 and 1970, but the company maintained planning and analysis work, since early data showed a large potential for development. On December 16, 1969, Liberal Backbencher Member of the National Assembly Robert Bourassa met with

6435-399: The 165-TWh heritage pool provided by Hydro-Québec Production at 2.79¢/ kWh . The division usually purchases additional power by entering into long-term contracts after a public call for tenders. For shorter term needs, it also buys power from the neighboring systems at market prices. As a last resort, Hydro-Québec Production can also provide short-term relief. Supply contracts above and beyond

6578-647: The 1990s, forceful opposition by the Crees and their environmental allies caused the cancellation of the Great Whale Project , a proposed 3,000 MW complex north of La Grande River. In February 2002, the Bernard Landry government and the Grand Council of the Crees signed the Peace of the Braves ( French : Paix des Braves ) and the Boumhounan Agreement , establishing a new relationship between Quebec and

6721-681: The 5,000 Crees and 4,000 Inuit of Northern Quebec over land rights, lifestyle and environmental issues. A ruling against the Quebec government in 1973 forced the Robert Bourassa government to negotiate a far-reaching agreement, the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement , involving the Cree, the Inuit, the Quebec and Canadian governments, Hydro-Québec, the SEBJ, and later the Naskapi First Nations . In

6864-441: The 700 kilometres (430 mi) James Bay Road to the La Grande River was begun in 1971 and completed by October 1974 at a cost of about $ 400 million. In 1973 and 1974, a temporary winter ice road was used to bring in the heavy equipment required for the construction of the roadbed and some 13 major bridges spanning the many rivers of the region. Construction had boomed in Montreal for Expo 67 , leading to an inflated workforce. In

7007-496: The Crees and the Quebec government made possible the development of the Eastmain Reservoir . The Eastmain-1-A and Sarcelle powerhouses and Rupert River diversion project were completed for $ 5,000 million CAD. This will provide water power to the turbines at Eastmain-1 , Eastmain-1-A and Sarcelle powerhouses and will provide increased flow at the existing La Grande-1 generating station as well as Robert-Bourassa and

7150-454: The Crees and agreeing on environmental rules for the construction of three new power stations built between 2003 and 2011 — the Eastmain-1, Eastmain-1-A and Sarcelle generating stations — and the diversion of the Rupert River . The James Bay region, also known as Jamésie , is a 350,000 km (135,136 sq mi) territory, bordered by the 49th and 55th parallels, James Bay on

7293-418: The Crown corporation devoted only minimal resources to the vast potential of northern rivers. In 1965, Hydro-Québec survey program included exploration of the territory and hydrographic surveys of areas between the 52nd and 55th parallel. In 1967, the company stepped up the work on the La Grande and Eastmain rivers . Dozens, then hundreds of people were sent by helicopter and seaplanes in inaccessible areas of

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7436-496: The East to create Canadian National Railways (CNR) in 1918 as a transcontinental system . The CNR was unique in that it was a conglomerate , and besides passenger and freight rail, it had inherited major business interests in shipping, hotels, and telegraphy and was able create new lines of business in broadcasting and air travel. Many of the components of this business empire were later spun off into new Crown corporations including some

7579-469: The James Bay Project's initial construction phase in the 1970s, a major environmental research program was conducted before Phase I began. The environmental impacts of the James Bay Project largely stem from the creation of a complex chain reservoir through the integration of all the watersheds of the eastern shores of the Hudson Bay, from the southern tip of James Bay to Ungava Bay in the north. This has had

7722-458: The James Bay area. Additionally, diverting rivers towards the James Bay could cause changes in the geographical pattern of river water discharge into the sea.[36] Caribou populations, which have been expanding since the 1950s, have adopted migration routes throughout much of the Quebec-Labrador Peninsula and have thus been increasingly abundant in the James Bay area, the valley of the Caniapiscau, and around George River (Quebec) .[37] Variations in

7865-428: The James Bay project. In March 1974, when one sub-contractor refused to fire two workers belonging to the rival CSN union, the FTQ workers destroyed the LG-2 site, causing $ 35 million in damage. On 21 March 1974, the workers on the LG-2 site rioted and used their bulldozers to destroy the site that they were working on while other workers set buildings afire. In response to the riot at the LG-2 site, Bourassa created

8008-490: The La Grande River is the pillar of the James Bay project's hydroelectric capacity, with the runoff increasing from an average yearly amount of 1,700 m /s to 3,400 m /s, and from 500 m /s to 5,000 m /s in the winter. This immense harnessing of the area's energy at La Grande was made possible by reducing the Eastmain River's water flow at its mouth by 90% and by reducing that of the Caniaspiscau River's by 45%, and then by diverting these rivers into La Grande. Not only does this alter

8151-426: The La Grande River. The power plants of the first phase of the James Bay Project produce about 65 TWh of power each year, operating at about 60% of their maximum rated generating capacity. During this first phase of construction, over 155,000,000 cubic metres (203,000,000 cu yd) of fill, 138,000 tons of steel, 550,000 tons of cement, and nearly 70,000 tons of explosives were used. Concurrent employment by

8294-406: The North American utility industry, Hydro-Québec was reorganized in the late 1990s to comply with electricity deregulation in the United States. The transmission division, TransÉnergie , was the first to be spun off in 1997, in response to the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 's publication of Order 888. In the same year, the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission granted Hydro-Québec

8437-471: The United States. TransÉnergie's high voltage network stretches over 33,630 km (20,900 mi), including 11,422 km (7,097 mi) of 765 and 735 kV lines , and a network of 514 substations. It is connected to neighbouring Canadian provinces and the United States by 17 ties, with a maximum reception capacity of 10,850 MW and a maximum transmission capacity of 7,994 MW. The TransÉnergie's network operates asynchronously from that of its neighbours on

8580-614: The actions of these organizations. The Crown is not liable for Crown corporations with non-agent status, except for actions of that corporation carried out on instruction from the government, though there may be "moral obligations" on the part of the Crown in other circumstances. Crown corporations are generally formed to fill a need that the federal or provincial government deems in the national interest or not profitable for private industry. Some Crown corporations are expected to be profitable organizations, while others are non-commercial and rely entirely on public funds to operate. Prior to

8723-401: The area is low. An earthquake of magnitude 5 on the Richter magnitude scale occurred in 1941, its epicenter located approximately 150 km from the La Grande-3 generating station. However, episodes of induced seismicity occurred during the initial fill of reservoirs . In 1983, a magnitude 4 tremor was recorded 50 km (31 mi) upstream of LG-3's main dam. Between 1950 and 1959,

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8866-404: The area's Cree is attributed to the processes of bioaccumulation and biomagnification . Biaccumulation is the initial consequence of mercury pollution, as the toxin is first incorporated into the given ecosystem's producers. In the James Bay area ecosystem, mercury being released from the decaying flooded trees would be incorporated in trace amounts in zooplankton . Benthic organisms ( benthos ),

9009-461: The bulk of electricity generated and sold by the company. Non-hydro plants included the baseload 675-MW gross Gentilly nuclear generating station , a CANDU-design reactor which was permanently shut down on December 28, 2012 the 660-MW Tracy Thermal Generating Station , a heavy fuel oil-fired plant shutdown in March 2011 and two gas turbine peaker plants , for a total installed capacity of 36,971 MW in 2011. Hydro-Québec's average generation cost

9152-434: The coastlines of both the James and Hudson Bays during their spring and fall migrations.[38] The James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement provided considerable financial and administrative resources for the Cree and Inuit communities to deal with the environmental and social consequences of the project and provide for future economic development, such as the creation of the local airline Air Creebec . The James Bay Project also

9295-434: The company plans to build a new 1200-MW direct current link between the Des Cantons substation at Windsor, Quebec in Quebec's Eastern Townships and Deerfield, New Hampshire , with an HVDC converter terminal built at Franklin, New Hampshire . The US segment of the US$ 1.1 billion line, would be built by Northern Pass Transmission LLC , a partnership between Northeast Utilities (75%) and NSTAR (25%). In order to go ahead,

9438-447: The company's 8 power stations. With the nationalization of privately owned utilities in 1963 , Hydro-Québec inherited the preliminary studies conducted by Finlayson and his team on the hydroelectric potential of James Bay rivers. However, other projects, such as the Manicouagan-Outardes project on the North Shore and the possibility of building a large power station at Churchill Falls in Labrador proved easier and less expensive and

9581-421: The completion of the last phase of the original James Bay Project: construction of the Eastmain-1 generating station, with a capacity of 480 MW, and the Eastmain Reservoir with a surface area of about 600 km (230 sq mi). A subsequent agreement in April 2004 put an end to all litigation between the two parties and opened the way to a joint environmental assessment of the projected diversion of

9724-448: The consequence of diverting the flow of water from four major rivers into a large body of water, ultimately changing the dynamics of the land, an environmental political phenomenon labelled by some critics as a "first build, then paint green" policy. Two of these main diverted rivers are the Caniapiscau River and the Eastmain River into which the James Bay Project submerged about 11,000 km of boreal forest ( taiga ). Consequently,

9867-527: The construction of the Intercolonial Railway between them was one of the terms of the new constitution. The first section of this entirely government-owned railway was completed in 1872. Western Canada 's early railways were all run by privately owned companies backed by government subsidies and loans. By the early twentieth century, however, many of these had become bankrupt . The federal government nationalised several failing Western railways and combined them with its existing Intercolonial and other line in

10010-428: The construction site. Poverty and social problems remained prevalent in the isolated Cree and Inuit villages of Northern Quebec, even in areas where there were no hydroelectric or mining activities. By the 1980s, the natural ebb and flow of the La Grande, Eastmain and Caniapiscau rivers had been severely modified, notably delaying the formation of a solid ice cover near the Cree village of Chisasibi , and about 4% of

10153-401: The corporation's budget and the appointment of its senior leadership through Orders-in-Council . Further, in the federal sphere, certain Crown corporations can be an agent or non-agent of the Crown. One with agent status is entitled to the same constitutional prerogatives, privileges, and immunities held by the Crown and can bind the Crown by its acts. The Crown is thus entirely responsible for

10296-613: The damming. The project, as described at the time, would involve the construction of four generating stations on the La Grande River and the diversion of the Eastmain and Caniapiscau rivers into the La Grande watershed. Responsibility for the project would be overseen by the Société d'énergie de la Baie-James , a newly created mixed corporation (public/private) controlled by Hydro-Québec, headed by Robert A. Boyd . As environmental assessments were not then required under Quebec law, construction of

10439-749: The decision to invest in the Churchill Falls venture with Brinco . Several Parti Québécois spokesmen, including energy critic Guy Joron and economic adviser Jacques Parizeau voiced their opposition to the Bourassa scheme. In an interview with Montreal 's Le Devoir , the former economist and public servant who later became premier of Quebec commented: "We don't have to dam every single river just because they're French Canadian and Catholic." However, Bourassa himself and Hydro-Québec senior management — including President Roland Giroux and commissioners Yvon DeGuise and Robert Boyd  — were firmly behind

10582-506: The development of its natural resources". Moreover, Bourassa argued his 1969 estimates showed demand for electricity would outstrip supply by 11,000 MW by 1983, concurring with forecasts made at the time by Hydro-Quebec. Six months after his election, Bourassa began working on the details of the scheme with his adviser, financier Paul Desrochers. The two men met secretly with Roland Giroux and Robert A. Boyd for an update in September 1970 and

10725-402: The development of our natural resources with the complicity of local vultures". Left-wing academics, such as UQAM 's Léo-Paul Lauzon and Gabriel Sainte-Marie, have claimed that privatization would be done at the expense of residential customers, who would pay much higher rates. They say that privatization would also be a betrayal of the social pact between the people and its government, and that

10868-538: The earlier part of the century, many British North American colonies that now comprise the Canadian federation had Crown corporations, often in the form of railways, such as the Nova Scotia Railway , since there was limited private capital available for such endeavours. When three British colonies joined to create the Canadian federation in 1867, these railways were transferred to the new central government. As well,

11011-518: The early 1970s. In 1990, Grand Chief Matthew Coon Come organized a canoe trip from Hudson Bay to the Hudson River , in Albany, New York , and this very effective public relations stunt brought international pressure to bear on the government of Quebec. The Cree had experienced considerable culture shock with the introduction of permanent transportation routes to the south and very few Cree were employed on

11154-452: The effects of the large-scale deployment of electric vehicles on the power grid . Projects focus on technologies to increase range , improve performance in cold weather and reduce charging time . Hydro-Québec has been criticized for not having taken advantage of some of its innovations. An electric wheel motor concept that struck a chord with Quebecers, first prototyped in 1994 by Pierre Couture, an engineer and physicist working at IREQ,

11297-686: The exception of 5 hydro plants on the Ottawa River radially connected to the Ontario grid at the time. A new 1250-MW back to back HVDC tie has been commissioned at the Outaouais substation, in L'Ange-Gardien , near the Ontario border. The new interconnection has been online since 2009 and the 315 kV line is fully operational since 2010. One drawback of the TransÉnergie network involves the long distances separating

11440-582: The excesses of the previous open market which had led to calls for prohibition in the first place. Virtually all the provinces used this system at one point. The largest of these government liquor businesses, the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (founded 1927), was by 2008 one of the world's largest alcohol retailers. Resource and utility crown corporations also emerged at this time, notably Ontario Hydro and Alberta Government Telephones in 1906, and SaskTel in 1908. Provincial governments also re-entered

11583-418: The federal government. In Canada, Crown corporations within either the federal or provincial level are owned by the Crown as the institution's sole legal shareholder . This follows the legal premise that the monarch , as the personification of Canada , owns all state property. Established by an Act of Parliament , each corporation is ultimately accountable to (federal or provincial) Parliament through

11726-414: The federal level. Not only the federal government was involved, but also the provinces, who were in engaged in an era of " province building " (expanding the reach and importance of the provincial governments) around this time. The prototypical example is Hydro-Québec , founded in 1944 and now Canada's largest electricity generator and the world's largest producer of hydro-electricity. It is widely seen as

11869-513: The first phase of the project covered about 14 years. By 1986, the largest power stations and reservoirs on the La Grande River were mostly completed, including the Robert-Bourassa (originally named La Grande-2), La Grande-3 and La Grande-4 generating stations, with an installed capacity of 10,800 MW, and five reservoirs covering an area of 11,300 km . The Eastmain and Caniapiscau river diversions each added about 800 m /s of water to

12012-490: The flooded vegetation's stored mercury (Hg) was released into the aquatic ecosystem, and due to the diversion of the water flow to contained reservoirs, the sudden abundance of mercury in the James Bay area in 1979 was unable to be dispersed and diluted as would have been the case in natural waters. Because the James Bay Cree ( East Cree ) live a mostly traditional lifestyle including a diet rich in fish and sea mammals, there

12155-413: The flooding of La Grande River , mercury levels in lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) increased up to fourfold their pre-flooding levels, while those in northern pike (Esox lucius) rose up to sevenfold during the same period. In natural lakes, these concentrations are five to six times less than in the James Bay area. This rapid spike of mercury levels in two of the fish species used extensively by

12298-463: The following years, the decreased demand for labor meant that times were tough for the construction industry in Montreal. As Bourassa had promised in the 1970 election that his government would create 100,000 jobs in the construction industry, there was much violent competition between various construction unions to have their workers engaged in the James Bay Project. Canadian historian Desmond Morton noted that there were 540 different incidents between

12441-546: The formation of Crown corporations as presently understood, much of what later became Canada was settled and governed by a similar type of entity called a chartered company . These companies were established by a royal charter by the Scottish , English , or French crown, but were owned by private investors. They fulfilled the dual roles of promoting government policy abroad and making a return for shareholders. Certain companies were mainly trading businesses, but some were given

12584-562: The generation sites and the main consumer markets. For instance, the Radisson substation links the James Bay project plants to the Nicolet station near Sainte-Eulalie , south of the Saint Lawrence, over 1,200 kilometres (750 mi) away. In 2011, TransÉnergie invested C$ 1.3 billion in capital expenditures, including C$ 460 million to expand its network. In addition to the new tie with Ontario,

12727-524: The government authorized it to acquire private electricity distributors, including the Gatineau Power Company and the Shawinigan Water & Power Company Hydro-Québec achieved province-wide scope. All of the 46 rural coops accepted Hydro-Québec's 1963 buyout offer, except Saint-Jean-Baptiste-de-Rouville which still exists. In 1964, the Province of British Columbia provided the Province of Quebec with

12870-564: The grounds that if the British North American Act was going to be changed, then the federal government should cede more powers to the provinces. The willingness of the Trudeau government to intervene on the side of the Cree and Inuit against the Quebec government was at least in part caused by the feud between Bourassa and Trudeau. In a speech championing the Cree, Chrétien said Bourassa "could go to hell", charging that he did not have

13013-420: The health risks associated with human exposure to mercury." The establishment of reservoirs containing large amounts of standing water has the ability to produce local climate changes. Alteration of annual precipitation patterns, increased abundance of low stratus clouds and fog , and warmer autumns and cooler springs, leading to a delay in the beginning and end of the growing season, have all been observed in

13156-515: The heritage pool must be approved by the Régie de l'énergie du Québec and their costs are passed on to customers. The division signed one natural gas cogeneration agreement for 507 MW in 2003, three forest biomass deals (47.5 MW) in 2004 and 2005, and ten contracts for wind power (2,994 MW) in 2005 and 2008, all with private sector producers. It also signed two flexible contracts with Hydro-Québec Production (600 MW) in 2002. Hydro-Québec Distribution

13299-536: The hydroelectric project until after construction of the access road had begun. The federal Indian affairs minister Jean Chrétien intervened on the side of the Cree and the Inuit, hiring lawyers to argue their case in the courts. Both Bourassa and the Prime Minister, Pierre Trudeau were Liberals and federalists, but relations between the two were very strained at best as the French-Canadian nationalist Bourassa

13442-474: The interior and encouraged commercial and social exchanges between the Cree villages and with southern Quebec. A separate road ( Route du Nord ) also links the James Bay Road to Chibougamau , via the Cree village of Nemaska . The building of these newer roads was largely the work of Cree construction companies. The James Bay Road also opened the region to further mineral exploration and clear-cut logging in

13585-416: The lack of French speakers in management positions in hydroelectricity companies. In 1944, Montreal Light, Heat & Power company was nationalised, along with its subsidiary, Beauharnois Power, and Hydro-Québec was created to manage the companies. Quebec Premier Adélard Godbout adopted a policy of investing 10 million dollars per year in rural electrification. However, in 1944 the government changed, and

13728-432: The large hydroelectric development to be built in northern Quebec. At the time Giroux, a financier, argued that large international investors "are still wary about nuclear energy. If we bring them a good hydroelectric project, and James Bay is a good one, they'll soon show where their preferences lie". As an engineer, Boyd expressed concerns at this early date about the uncertainty of nuclear energy. He recommended maintaining

13871-408: The lost wetland habitats in these zones of periodic fluctuations are destroyed. Other changes in the delicate balance of the James Bay ecosystem can be illustrated through the animal migration patterns, salmon spawning, and destruction of wildlife habitats. The significant loss of wetlands and the blocking of passageways to those wetlands that remain has inhibited salmon spawning and migration in

14014-461: The lower Caniapiscau during the period of caribou migrations, giving hunters greater access to caribou than ever before. About 30,000 caribou are killed each year by Inuit , Cree and American and European hunters. Seasonal reversal in the flow of rivers can potentially rob the rich nutrients that thrive in various mudflats and coastal marshes , affecting millions of migratory birds such as waterfowl, Canada geese , and various inland birds that use

14157-419: The markets account for most of these emissions. Hydro-Québec's expertise at building and operating a very high voltage electrical grid spreading over long distances has long been recognized in the electrical industry. TransÉnergie, Hydro-Québec's transmission division, operates the largest electricity transmission network in North America. It acts as the independent system operator and reliability coordinator for

14300-538: The matter to the Supreme Court. In later years, the Cree and Inuit were given a settlement of $ 150 million, negotiated by Cree chief Billy Diamond. In November 1975, the governments of Canada and Quebec signed the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement with the Cree of the James Bay region and the Inuit of northern Quebec, affirming exclusive hunting and fishing rights to about 170,000 km of territory and about $ 250 million in financial compensation in return for

14443-482: The mid-century. The federal Post Office Department became a Crown corporation as Canada Post Corporation in 1981, and Canada's export credit agency , Export Development Canada , was created in 1985. Perhaps the most controversial was Petro-Canada , Canada's short-lived attempt to create a national oil Crown corporation , founded in 1975. The heyday of Crown corporations ended in the late 1980s, and there has been much privatisation since that time, particularly at

14586-487: The most important businesses in the mid-20th-century economy of Canada, such Air Canada , the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), Via Rail , and Marine Atlantic . Provincial Crown corporations also re-emerged in the early 20th century, most notably in the selling of alcohol. Government monopoly liquor stores were seen as a compromise between the recently ended era of Prohibition in Canada and

14729-537: The nearby Cree village of Chisasibi . During the main construction period of the late 1970s, Radisson housed a population several times greater than the Cree population of Chisasibi, although it currently has a population of about 500. Nevertheless, the Cree communities have themselves continued the push to build additional roads from the James Bay Road westward to the Cree coastal villages of Wemindji , Eastmain and Waskaganish . These roads, opened between 1995 and 2001, have further facilitated access to hunting areas of

14872-500: The new premier Maurice Duplessis was opposed to any form of government intervention in the economy. Local cooperatives were created to bring power to rural areas. Duplessis remained in power until 1960, and during that time there were no further nationalisations of companies, and Hydro-Québec mostly served the Montreal area. Major projects included: Between 1944 and 1962, Hydro-Québec's installed capacity increased from 616 to 3,661 MW while lowering residential power rates by half in

15015-514: The next month he travelled to New York City in the midst of the October Crisis to negotiate financing for the project, estimated at the time to cost between $ 5 billion and $ 6 billion. Bourassa introduced his plan to the provincial cabinet in March 1971 and recommended hiring the US engineering firm Bechtel to oversee the construction. Liberal strategists then chose to make the announcement before

15158-510: The north. The northerly rivers were selected in May 1972, various studies conducted by engineering firms having concluded the La Grande option would be more cost effective, while having a lesser impact on forestry and would require less flooding, thus minimizing impacts on First Nations fishing and hunting. Another area of concern was the silty nature of the terrain in the NBR area, which would have complicated

15301-582: The open market in the State of New York using TransÉnergie's network, upon payment of a transmission fee. In recent years, TransÉnergie's Contrôle des mouvements d'énergie (CMÉ) unit has been acting as the reliability coordinator of the bulk electricity network for Quebec as a whole, under a bilateral agreement between the Régie de l'énergie du Québec and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission of

15444-519: The party leader in January, Bourassa went on to win the general election on April 29, 1970 , and his tenure as Premier of Quebec became closely linked to hydroelectric development in general and with the James Bay project in particular. For Bourassa the development of James Bay project addressed two of his priorities. In Energy in the North , an essay published in 1985, Bourassa, an economist by profession, argued that "Quebec's economic development relies on

15587-488: The president of Hydro-Québec, Roland Giroux over lunch at the parliamentary dining room in Quebec City . After the meeting Bourassa, who was about to launch a leadership bid for the position left vacant by the resignation of former Premier Jean Lesage , became convinced of the probability and suitability of the project and made the development of James Bay hydroelectricity a major plank of its leadership campaign. Elected as

15730-514: The project must receive regulatory approval in Quebec and the United States. The proposed transmission line could be in operation in 2015. According to Jim Robb, a senior executive from Northeast Utilities, New England could meet one third of its Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative commitments with the hydropower coming through this new power line alone. Hydro-Québec Distribution is in charge of retail sales to most customers in Quebec. It operates

15873-431: The project reached 18,000. Of the 215 dikes and dams, many surpassed the height of skyscrapers, with one reaching 56 stories. The terraced diversion channel at Robert-Bourassa generating station was carved 30 m (one hundred feet) deep into the side of a mountain. Water tumbles from the reservoir to the river below at a height greater than that of Niagara Falls. A 4,800 km (3,000 mi) network of transmission lines

16016-454: The project's first phase in ≈ 1971 amounted to $ 13.7 billion (1987 Canadian dollars ). The eight power stations of the La Grande Complex generate an average of 9.5 GW, enough to meet the total demand of a small industrialized economy such as Belgium . The James Bay power stations represent almost half of Hydro-Québec's total output and capacity. The development of the James Bay Project was controversial. It led to an acrimonious conflict with

16159-571: The province would be short-selling itself by divesting of a choice asset for a minimal short term gain. Hydro-Québec sources of energy supply (2013) On December 31, 2013, Hydro-Québec Production owned and operated 61 hydro plants —including 12 of over 1,000 MW capacity — with 26 major reservoirs. These facilities are located in 13 of Quebec's 430 watersheds , including the Saint Lawrence , Betsiamites , La Grande , Manicouagan , Ottawa , Outardes , and Saint-Maurice rivers. These plants provide

16302-483: The railway business as in Northern Alberta Railways in 1925 and what later became BC Rail in 1918. A notable anomaly of this era is Canada's only provincially owned "bank" (though not called that for legal reasons) Alberta Treasury Branches , created in 1937. The Bank of Canada , originally privately owned, became a Crown corporation in 1938. New crown Corporations were also created throughout much of

16445-440: The region, no seasonal or permanent roads existed at the time. Opposition to the project, however, was strong among the 5,000 Crees of James Bay, the 3,500 Inuit to the north and several environmental groups. They believed the government of Quebec was acting in violation of treaties and committing unlawful expropriation and destruction of traditional hunting and trapping lands. Furthermore, the Cree and Inuit had not been informed of

16588-557: The research centre is located in Varennes , a suburb on the South Shore of Montreal . IREQ operates on an annual research budget of approximately C$ 100 million and specializes in the areas of high voltage, mechanics and thermomechanics, network simulations and calibration. Research conducted by scientists and engineers at IREQ has helped to extend the life of dams, improve water turbine performance, automate network management and increase

16731-455: The right to build on or flood the land claimed by the Cree. In 1973, the federal government's lawyers won a court injunction ordering the James Bay project stopped until a treaty could be signed with the Cree and Inuit, but an appeals court overturned the ruling days later. However, Bourassa agreed to negotiate with the First Nations as the federal government announced it was willing to take

16874-543: The right to develop the hydroelectric resources of Northern Quebec. The planned La Grande-1 power station would be built about 50 km further away from the Cree village of Chisasibi than originally planned. The Agreement also provided for an extensive environmental follow-up of all aspects of the hydroelectric development on the La Grande and Eastmain rivers and the establishment of a joint environmental assessment process for any future hydroelectric project involving other rivers of Northern Quebec. The period of construction of

17017-467: The river. The result has been considerable decay ( decomposition ) of dead trees along the shoreline, consequently releasing stored mercury into the area's terrestrial ecosystem through bioaccumulation in decomposers and detritovores and eventual biomagnification up the food web . This has left the area's Cree susceptible to mercury poisoning from both land and sea. Any shoreline plants that could potentially provide vegetation growth to replace any of

17160-500: The runoff amount of the Eastmain and the Caniaspiscau Rivers, but also their drainage location, since prior to having been directly merged with La Grande, these rivers’ drainage locations were separate from the La Grande River. The summer runoff rate of La Grande increased by 40%, making the average annual runoff rate 91% greater than its natural rate. Because of the change in the runoff rates of James Bay, massively increasing in

17303-546: The social consequences of the hydroelectric project itself pale in comparison to the social impact of the Cree coming into direct contact with the society and economic forces of francophone Quebec. The greatest impact stems from the construction in the early 1970s of the James Bay Road ( Route de la Baie James ) from Matagami to the new town of Radisson , near the Robert-Bourassa generating station (La Grande-2), and on to

17446-434: The southern James Bay area and substantially reduced the cost of transport. These activities have put further strains on the traditional hunting and trapping activities of the Cree in the southern James Bay region, notably the villages of Waskaganish and Nemaska. Such activities, however, only accounted for about half the economic activity of the Cree communities in 1970 and less than 20% by the late 1990s. Hunting and fishing in

17589-421: The southern edge of the development has shifted noticeably southward since the project's construction. Following construction of the project, the area's water flow was substantially modified. In the James Bay area in general, the average monthly surface runoff rate in the winter increased by 52%, doubling the total freshwater input, while that of the summer months decreased by 6%. The James Bay area's water flow

17732-481: The technology because the USSR lacked suitable rivers to expand its own hydroelectric network of dams and power stations. Two options were considered when Bourassa unveiled his plan for the construction of several large hydroelectric power stations on the rivers flowing into James Bay, either on the Nottaway , Broadback , Rupert and Harricana Rivers in the south (NBR Project), or on the La Grande and Eastmain Rivers to

17875-490: The term public agency is used to describe "boards, commissions, tribunals or other organizations established by government, but not part of a government department." Crown corporations in Manitoba are supported by Manitoba Crown Services . Crown corporations in Ontario are referred to as Crown agencies . A Crown agency includes any board, commission, railway, public utility, university, factory, company or agency that

18018-493: The terms of the social pact of 1944. The government issued itself 43,741,090 shares worth C$ 100 each, and the amended statute stated that Hydro-Québec would now pay up to 75% of its net earnings in dividends. This amendment to the Hydro-Québec Act started an episodic debate on whether Hydro-Québec should be fully or partially privatized. In recent years, economist Marcel Boyer and businessman Claude Garcia—both associated with

18161-499: The traditional hunting and trapping territories of the Cree had been lost to the rising waters of the reservoirs, including about 10% of the territories of the Cree village of Chisasibi. At the same time, new roads, snowmobiles and bush airlines facilitated access to distant hunting territories of the interior. While highly motivated, the Cree's opposition to the Great Whale River Project was mainly ineffective until 1992 when

18304-680: The transmission capacity of high voltage power lines. Another research centre, the Laboratoire des technologies de l'énergie (LTE) in Shawinigan, was opened in 1988 to adapt and develop new products while helping industrial customers improve their energy efficiency . In the last 20 years, the institute has also conducted research and development work towards the electrification of ground transportation . Current projects include battery materials, including innovative work on lithium iron phosphate and nano-titanate, improved electric drive trains and

18447-635: The two main construction unions in Quebec on sites associated with the James Bay Project between 1970 and 1974, many of them "very bloody". In the 1973 election, after the Fédération des travailleurs et travailleuses du Québec (FTQ) union had donated generously to the Parti libéral du Québec , Bourassa announced that only companies employing workers from the FTQ-affiliated Conseil des métiers de la construction headed by André "Dédé" Desjardins would work on

18590-473: The vicinity of the project's major reservoirs. The doubling of the freshwater input into James Bay during the winter decreases the salinity of the seawater , thereby increasing the freezing point of the bay. The resultant increased ice content at the northern section of the project in the winter has cooled warm air currents more than usual, bringing harsher Arctic weather, including strong winds and less precipitation, to south-central Quebec. The tree line at

18733-597: The water flow of the Caniapiscau River from 1981 to 1984, during the period when the Caniapiscau Reservoir was being filled, may have contributed to the death by drowning of 10,000 migratory woodland caribou in September 1984, representing about 1.5% of the herd at that time. On the other hand, the reduced flow of the Caniapiscau River and the Koksoak River has permanently reduced the risk of natural floods on

18876-560: The western side and by the drainage divide with the Saint Lawrence River basin on the eastern side. The topography of the area consist of generally low relief areas and includes three parts: a 150 km (93 mi) coastal plain , a rolling plateau with a maximum elevation of 400 m (1,300 ft) and the Otish Mountains to the east of the territory, with peaks reaching 900 to 1,100 m (3,000 to 3,600 ft) . The area

19019-420: The whitefish's primary prey, consume a great deal of zooplankton, causing the mercury concentration in a single organism to magnify due to accumulation of mercury and its inability to be excreted. In turn, whitefish, due to their greater size, consume large numbers of benthic invertebrates , thus incorporating the individual mercury accumulations of each organism and creating their own store of mercury. The effect

19162-416: The winter months, and increasing considerably in the summer as well, there has been more extreme fluctuation in the water levels. This has killed many trees along the shoreline, which are not equipped with deep enough root systems and tolerance of prolonged exposure to seawater to withstand these fluctuations. As well, the increased riverbank erosion downstream of the dams has washed the flora ’s habitat down

19305-563: The world's largest land owner, at one point overseeing 7,770,000 km (3,000,000 sq mi), territories that today incorporate the provinces of Manitoba , Saskatchewan and Alberta , as well as Nunavut , the Northwest Territories , and Yukon . The HBC were often the point of first contact between the colonial government and First Nations . By the late 19th century, however, the HBC lost its monopoly over Rupert's Land and became

19448-525: The world. It was established as a Crown corporation by the government of Quebec in 1944 from the expropriation of private firms. This was followed by massive investment in hydro-electric projects like the James Bay Project . Today, with 63 hydroelectric power stations , the combined output capacity is 37,370 megawatts. Extra power is exported from the province and Hydro-Québec supplies 10 per cent of New England 's power requirements. The company logo,

19591-494: The year 2000 with the adoption of Bill 116, which amended the Act respecting the Régie de l'énergie , to enact the functional separation of Hydro-Québec's various business units. Legislation passed in 2000 commits the generation division, Hydro-Québec Production, to provide the distribution division, Hydro-Québec Distribution, a yearly heritage pool of up to 165 TWh of energy plus ancillary services—including an extra 13.9 TWh for losses and

19734-729: Was 2.11 cents per kWh in 2011. The company also purchases the bulk of the output of the 5,428-MW Churchill Falls generating station in Labrador, under a long-term contract expiring in 2041. In 2009, Hydro-Québec bought the 60% stake owned by AbitibiBowater in the McCormick plant (335 MW), located at the mouth of the Manicouagan River near Baie-Comeau , for C$ 616 million. In 2013, the energy sold by Hydro-Québec to its grid-connected customers in Quebec and exported to neighboring markets came almost exclusively from renewable sources. Hydro (96.78%)

19877-568: Was a "soft federalist" who favored devolving the powers of the federal government down to the provinces while the Canadian nationalist Trudeau was a "hard federalist" who favored concentrating power in the hands of the federal government. Relations between Quebec City and Ottawa were brought to the breaking point in 1971 when Bourassa vetoed the Victoria charter for patriating the British North America Act to give Canada its own constitution on

20020-514: Was also given the mandate to export power and to work in any energy-related field. In 1986 the Quebec – New England Transmission began bringing power from the James Bay Project 1,100 kilometers (700 miles) south to the Boston area. Phase II of the James Bay Project started in 1987 and took nine years to complete. Construction of the Denis-Perron Dam began in 1994. Like its counterparts in

20163-486: Was an impetus for the forging of a collective identity among the Cree of Quebec and for the establishment of the Grand Council of the Crees (Eeyou Istchee) . The Agreement notably provided for major institutional structures for local government, economic development, schools and health services, mostly under the control of the Grand Council of the Crees and the Kativik Regional Government , in Nunavik . Yet,

20306-602: Was installed in 2013. As of 2019, The Electric Circuit offers 2,389 public charging stations in Quebec and eastern Ontario . Usage is also compatible with the FLO and New Brunswick E-charge network adaptors. Hydro-Québec has made significant investments in research and development over the past 40 years. In addition to funding university research, the company is the only electric utility in North America to operate its own large-scale research institute, L' Institut de recherche d'Hydro-Québec (IREQ). Established by Lionel Boulet in 1967,

20449-458: Was necessary to bring generated power to consumers in southern Quebec. The network contains several 735-kilovolt lines and one 450-kilovolt DC line directly linked to the U.S. power grid. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, construction of the second phase of the James Bay project centred on the construction of five secondary power plants on the La Grande River and its tributaries (La Grande-1, La Grande-2A, Laforge-1, Laforge-2 and Brisay), adding

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