World-class cheap, clean, abundant hydro. The catch is access: new loads above 5 MW need ministerial sign-off under Bill 69, and a proposed data-centre tariff near 13 cents per kWh lifts the price. Approved projects still connect, so this is a managed gate, not a closed door.
See live grid data →Why: Hydro-Quebec's proposed dedicated data-centre tariff roughly doubles the industrial rate and is pending the Regie de l'energie; managed pricing inside an otherwise open, low-cost system.
What would change the read: The Regie approving a workable dedicated rate with a clear, predictable allocation process.
For new supply: Hydro-Quebec's Action Plan 2035 (about 185 billion CAD) is the new-supply pipeline, developed as partnership with First Nations and Inuit communities.
Beyond the grid: New supply depends on Indigenous consent: a Quebec First Nation voted to reject a landmark Hydro-Quebec deal, and the utility now frames its large hydro expansion as ongoing partnership with First Nations and Inuit communities rather than one-off settlements. Globe and Mail BLG
Managed access: Bill 69 (2025) requires ministerial sign-off for new loads over 5 MW, and Hydro-Quebec has proposed a ~13 cents/kWh data-center rate (H2 2026, pending the Regie). Approved projects proceed; this is a high bar, not a shut door.
Exceptional availability: Hydro-Quebec reservoir hydro is a large, firm, dispatchable surplus.
Cheapest power on the board, even after the proposed tariff it remains competitive North-America-wide.
Momentum stalled: historically attracted AWS/Google/Microsoft, but new large-load growth is paused under the governance regime.
Among the cleanest grids on earth (~5 g), almost entirely hydro.
Major-event damage is largely distribution and sub-transmission; a transmission-connected firm-service load faces materially less exposure, though restoration during large storms is slow.
What this means: A large new load faces occasional exposure here. Monitor conditions and keep a contingency plan.
event-based · Hydro-Quebec 2023 distribution activities
Storm-fragile delivery: the Apr 5, 2023 ice storm alone was about 59% of that year's unadjusted SAIDI, and 2024 unadjusted SAIDI was 436 minutes per customer (roughly half of 2023). Major-event-adjusted reliability is stable, so the risk is major-event frequency and slow restoration, not blue-sky performance.
What this means: A large new load should expect genuine exposure to forced power cuts (curtailment), price spikes, and delays in getting connected, and should design in backup power or firm supply contracts.
measured · Hydro-Quebec 2024 accountability report
We have not compiled what firm service actually promises here: whether it is firm, non-firm or interruptible, the conditions under which you can be curtailed, the redundancy required of you, and the transfer time behind any N-1 commitment. Treat this as an open diligence item, not as an indication that service is firm.
Utility feeds, UPS, storage, on-site generation, islanding, black start and the residual energy you still expect to lose are properties of a specific site design, not of a market. This layer only exists once there is a site, and we never assert it for you.
What this means: Supply and demand look broadly balanced; the outcome hinges on the drivers below.
Severe
4-6 years (authorization-gated)
This market's friction level, wait band and full story are free here. The precise typical wait in months, and every market ranked side by side, are the Analyst Desk.
Quebec restricted new power procurement for large data centres in 2024, and under Bill 69 (June 2025) the Minister must authorize any new load of 5 MW or more on technical, economic and social criteria. Hydro-Quebec's proposed dedicated data-centre tariff runs about 13 cents per kWh, roughly double the large-power rate. Cheap, clean hydro is the draw; the gate is ministerial authorization and available capacity pending the Action Plan 2035 build.
Data-center share of demand pressure: High. Sources: Osler: Canada grid connection policies · Data centres in Canada (BLG). The full cross-market connection dataset is available through the Connection Friction Feed.
$55 to $115 per MWh
Midpoint about $85 per MWh
The headline-cheap Quebec hydro rate is misleading for the load we rate: it is the general industrial tariff, not what a new data center will pay. A new data center over 5 MW faces the proposed dedicated data-centre rate of about 13 cents CAD per kWh, roughly double the industrial rate, phasing in over five years for existing sites. The band reflects legacy or partial sites near the industrial rate and new data centers at the proposed data-centre rate; it is a proposal pending the regulator, so it is labelled triangulated rather than measured.
This market's band is free here; the ranked cross-market table with every market's precise midpoint is the Analyst Desk. See the ranked view.
Basis: triangulated from public sources, in US dollars per MWh delivered to a large high-load-factor load, excluding refundable taxes. Sources: Hydro-Quebec Rate L (large-power industrial) · Hydro-Quebec proposed data-centre rate (CBC).
Moderate
1 of 3 data layers measured
Full
3 of 3 dimensions: reliability, connection, cost
June 2026
per-layer vintages below
| Layer | Method | Vintage | Freshness | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PGIQ Rating opinion | opinion | June 2026 | Current | PGIQ methodology |
| Reliability review | measured | 2025 | Fresh | Hydro-Quebec 2024 accountability report |
| Connection friction | proxy | 2025/26 | Fresh | Osler: Canada grid connection policies |
| Realized cost | triangulated | 2026 | Fresh | Hydro-Quebec Rate L (large-power industrial) |
Freshness reflects each layer's refresh cadence: reliability annual to three-yearly, capacity-auction and queue yearly, tariffs every year or two. The full cross-market freshness dashboard is at /data-quality.
Not compiled for this market. Identify the serving operator before relying on any figure here, because a market-level read is an average over territories.
How the connection process is organised: the applicable service and connection entities depend on the candidate location and the power pathway. We have not compiled the structure for this market; that is a gap in our wayfinding, not a fact about the market.
The real-world events that test our Tier 2 call for Quebec: 2 support it and 1 challenges it. Each is dated and cited, so you can check the rating against what is actually happening on the ground.
The 17 Aug 2026 agreements end the 1969 power contract, under which Hydro-Quebec bought Churchill Falls output at 0.2 cents per kWh, and replace the December 2024 MOU. Hydro-Quebec continues to take Churchill Falls and Gull Island power under new commercial terms and participates in the Churchill Falls expansion, Gull Island and the associated transmission build. Premier Fréchette framed the agreement as securing Quebec's energy independence and enabling growth through renewable energy. For a large load weighing Quebec, this is long-run supply certainty on a system whose access is authorization-gated and whose dedicated data-centre tariff is still before the Regie. The new pricing terms are not stated in the government releases and are not recorded here.
The Regie de l'energie hearing on Hydro-Quebec's proposed ~13 c/kWh data-centre rate is now set for fall 2026, with a decision expected late 2026 or early 2027, later than the H2 2026 in-force date originally proposed.
Source: BLG ↗A new large-load rate for sites over 5 MW, roughly double the current large-power rate, pending Regie de l'energie approval for H2 2026.
Source: Hydro-Quebec / CBC ↗How Quebec's reliability-adjusted score and tier have moved, month by month. Part of your Analyst Desk.
Every field above carries its own source and freshness. Price, imports and exports are modelled in every market because no feed supplies them. Carbon intensity is derived from the fuel mix.
Done with Quebec? Browse every market or see conditions across every region.
This page is our full read on Quebec alone, and it is free. To decide where a large load should actually go, you need every market side by side, ranked on recurring cost and time-to-connect, with the history and alerts when your shortlist moves. That is the Analyst Desk.
With your Analyst Desk, compare Quebec against every market side by side, ranked on recurring cost and time-to-connect, with the full history and shortlist alerts.
The national greenhouse gas inventory publishes a measured carbon intensity for Quebec. It differs from the figure this page serves, and both are shown rather than one quietly replacing the other.
| Served here | ECCC inventory, 2024 |
|---|---|
| 5 gCO2eq/kWh hand authored undeclared basis | 2.1 gCO2eq/kWh generation intensity, Table A7-6, preliminary |
We publish 2.9 gCO2eq/kWh higher than the inventory measures. The fuel mix on this record is also unsourced and also differs: it states 1% gas, while Quebec generated 0.0% of its electricity from gas in 2024. How much of the intensity gap that accounts for is not established, and differs by market.
Why we have not simply switched. Adopting the inventory figure changes the published carbon intensity on nine Canadian markets at once, which is a reviewed change here rather than an edit, and it is open. Either way nothing moves a tier, score, pillar or outlook: carbon intensity is not an input to the PGIQ Rating.
Boundary: operational combustion, CO2-equivalent, per kWh delivered to the grid. Main activity producers only. ECCC National Inventory Report, Annex 7 →