New Energy: a bill for $ 8 billion

(Note: This article was translated with the help of Google translate)

This is what it will cost four million Hydro-Québec customers for the next eight years

"An energy we do not need," hastens to add Youri Chassin, economist at the Montreal Economic Institute. In an economic note to be released today and that our Bureau of Investigation obtained a copy, the economist identifies the annual cost of each of the energy sectors in Quebec, whose bill is to be borne by consumers in Quebec.

Nearly $ 700 million per year are attributable only to the "implicit subsidy" to the development of the wind industry. And the $700 million does not include the 800 megawatt (MW) recently announced by the Prime Minister Pauline Marois, who which will add to the 3,119 MW of wind energy already produced or under construction in different regions of Quebec. Not to mention that for the first time, with 800 MW, the Marois government will proceed without tenders and small projects, which threatens to further increase consumer bills.

According to Youri Chassin: "At present, the increase in the electricity bill of Quebec was mainly due to new purchases of electricity, mainly wind, biomass and small hydro."

In this study, the economist has taken into account all the factors that are used to estimate the average cost of electricity, and, for each of the energy sectors. For example, it included not only the cost of supply, but also the integration costs, the average costs of transmission and distribution losses not to mention more than 7% incurred on the network by the transmission of electricity. All sectors were compared on the same basis.

This is taking into account all these factors that arrive at a figure of 14.14 cents for the cost of a kilowatt-hour produced by the wind industry. This is the most expensive energy in all categories: two and a half times the price of that produced by the central Hydro-Quebec, which he estimated at 5.55 cents per kilowatt-hour.

A sea of surplus

Now, if the difference between the cost of 14.14 cents and the average selling price of 5.76 cents per kilowatt-hour of Hydro-Québec is multiplied by the number of kilowatt-hours delivered, we'd discover the extent of the "implicit subsidy" of $ 695 million per year granted to Hydro-Quebec wind energy. While, at the same time, the region is swimming literally in a sea of ​​surplus that is not expected to end until after the year 2020. The surplus will be mainly supported by Quebec consumers because the Quebec industrial demand has collapse.

The "surplus" exists because Quebecers, given the commitments made with the promoters of wind energy can not even consume all electricity guaranteed by the Heritage Block 179 TWh (terawatt hours) the price of which was previously frozen at 2.79 cents per kilowatt-hour and the government has Marois index on an annual basis.

"Financial losses"

"If electricity could be sold for profit on the domestic market or exported, the surplus would not matter. The concept thus reflects the financial losses caused by electricity being more expensive than the selling price," writes Youri Chassin supply. Recall that the energy is sold to an average of 4.1 cents per kilowatt hour on export markets and to 3.32 cents per kilowatt hour on the U.S. spot market - as unveiled a month ago by our Bureau of Investigation.

This means that over the next eight years, from 2013 to 2020, wind energy purchases imposed by successive governments in Quebec (Landry, Charest, Marois) and authorized by the Board of Energy, will guarantee of a positive return for Hydro-Québec Distribution of $5.5 billion to be paid by customers of Hydro-Québec. In other words, the preferred chain of Quebec environmentalists represents an annual slate of $695 million in bills of Hydro-Québec customers to develop an energy that Quebec does not need.

For the economist, it is clear that "while Quebecers consume expensive electricity from wind and others, does not consume the heritage block that is produced cheaply by Hydro-Québec. This electricity is exported and more beneficial to Americans, then it is supposed to benefit Quebecers. "According to him, these" implicit subsidies "for wind energy could be used for other purposes and the" positive economic impact alleged in this industry is, in fact, an ineffective use of money . "

Hydro-Québec is bound by 58 supply contracts including with the wind industry largely represented by foreign interests - Spanish, French, American - and Canadian companies controlled by companies. These contracts commit Hydro-Québec to buy electricity production "even if it is not profitable."

And concludes the economist Montreal Economic Institute: "The wind has been developing since the early 2000s and it will continue to grow unless there is a substantive discussion with all the numbers and that we finally decided to depoliticize decisions of Hydro-Quebec."