ID: 1735
Presenting Author: Yvan Cliche
Session: 690 - Transforming Together: Dialogue, Transparency & Action in Energy Transitions
Status: pending
Energy efficiency in Québec has shifted from a nice to have choice to strategic necessity, a key tool to meet rising demand, support electrification, and secure Québec’s energy future.
For years, Québec’s famously low electricity rates have made energy efficiency mostly a matter of virtue rather than urgency. At times, Hydro-Québec has placed it at the center of its mission; at others, it has quietly slipped off the agenda, especially when surplus power made conservation seem less necessary.
That era is over. The surge in demand linked to decarbonization goals and industrial growth has turned energy efficiency from a “nice-to-have” into a strategic necessity. Furthermore, with the numerous projects planned to meet this growing demand, utilities will be questioned about the best uses of electricity and whether programs to save energy are sufficient and effective.
For households, efficiency will soon become a more tangible priority as electricity rates rise and as smarter, two-way programs are introduced. These will allow consumers to better align their use with real-time needs, bring tangible benefits by lowering their bills, especially for vulnerable households who often spend a larger share of their income on energy.
Energy efficiency, once an optional act of environmental virtue, is now an essential pillar of Québec’s energy security and a pillar for the social acceptability of the energy transition.
Yvan Cliche is a fellow at the Centre for International Studies (CÉRIUM) at the Université de Montréal. He is the author of Enjeux et conflits énergétiques (Fides, 2022), writes on energy issues for v