Hydro-Québec

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hydro-Québec
Type Crown Corporation
Founded Montreal, Quebec (1944)
Headquarters Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Key people Thierry Vandal, President & CEO[1]
Industry Electricity generation & distribution
Products Electricity
Revenue ▲$10.888 billion CAN (2006)
Employees 22,915 (2006)
Website www.hydroquebec.com

Hydro-Québec is a crown corporation that provides electricity to Quebec, Canada and the north-eastern parts of the United States. Hydro-Québec's total installed capacity in 2005 was 35,190 MW, approximately 97% of which is from hydroelectric sources. Hydro-Québec is the world's largest producer of hydroelectric power[citation needed].

Hydro-Québec was originally created by Premier Adélard Godbout on April 14, 1944 in a partial nationalization of electricity companies around Montreal, notably Montreal Light, Heat and Power Company. The full name was "Quebec Hydro-Electric Commission" (French: "la Commission hydroélectrique du Québec"), but the name Hydro-Québec soon came into use. The first president was Télesphore-Damien Bouchard.

The name was chosen because Quebec produces most of its electricity from hydroelectricity sources.

Maurice Duplessis became premier again later in 1944, and refused any further nationalizations of power companies.

During the Quiet Revolution, the remaining 11 privately owned electricity companies in Quebec were nationalized, greatly expanding Hydro-Québec into its modern form. The nationalization was completed under the initiative of René Lévesque, Minister of Hydroelectric Resources and Public Works in the Liberal government of Jean Lesage.

Beginning in 1965, Jean-Jacques Archambault and his colleagues made Hydro-Québec the first utility in the world to use 735 kV transmission lines for the most efficient long-distance transport of electricity. These lines currently make up one third of the power grid in Quebec.

In the 1970s, Liberal Premier Robert Bourassa initiated the construction of the James Bay hydroelectric project. Today, it contributes a significant fraction of Quebec's power requirements.

Between 1966 and 1983, Hydro-Québec constructed the Gentilly Nuclear Generating Station, the only nuclear power plant located in the province of Quebec.

On March 13, 1989, Hydro-Québec experienced a blackout due to a solar geomagnetic storm. Restoration of power took about nine hours.

In January 1998, a major and unprecedented ice storm destroyed a large number of electric pylons and transmission lines. The ice storm left most of the Island of Montreal without electricity for up to nine days, and some other areas of Quebec for up to three weeks.

Hydro-Québec headquarters in downtown Montreal, with logo
Hydro-Québec headquarters in downtown Montreal, with logo

In 2007, Hydro-Québec declined from a government plan that would reduce provincial consumption. The conservation initiative based on smart meters to cut consumption during peak periods is too expensive to provide real savings, according to the crown corporation.

The meters, common in Ontario, permit consumers to economize by monitoring their use and consuming most of their power when rates are lower, at night, instead of during peak morning and evening hours. [1]

Contents

[edit] References

  1. ^ Hydro-Québec organization chart

[edit] See also

[edit] Further reading

  • Bolduc, André, Clarence Hogue, and Daniel Larouche. Hydro-Québec After 100 Years of Electricity. [Montréal]: Libre expression, 1989.
  • Bucknall, James. Supply Planning Under Uncertainty The Case of Hydro-Québec. [Québec]: Département d'économique, Faculté des sciences sociales, Université Laval, 1983.
  • Hafsi, Taieb. 2001. "Fundamental Dynamics in Complex Organizational Change: A Longitudinal Inquiry into Hydro-Québec's Management". Long Range Planning. 34, no. 5: 557.
  • Hydro-Québec. Architecture at Hydro-Québec. Montréal: Hydro-Québec, 1990. ISBN 2550207521
  • Lalancette, Simon, Frank Leclerc, and David Turcotte. 2004. "Selective Hedging with Market Views and Risk Limits: the Case of Hydro-Québec". The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance : Journal of the Midwest Economics Association. 44, no. 5: 710.
  • Powers, John M. 2007. "Profile - Thierry Vandal, President and CEO of Hydro-Québec". Electric Light and Power. 85, no. 4: 28.
  • Trudel, G, J-P Gingras, and J-R Pierre. 2005. "Designing a Reliable Power System: Hydro-Québec's Integrated Approach". Proceedings of the IEEE. 93, no. 5: 907.
  • Williams, Susan. Hydro-Québec and the Great Whale Project Hydroelectric Development in Northern Québec. Washington, D.C.: Investor Responsibility Research Center, 1993. ISBN 1879775158

[edit] External links