Annual electricity rate hike takes effect in Quebec

The annual increase in residential electricity rates, capped at three per cent, takes effect Monday in Quebec.

According to Hydro-Quebec, the annual indexation means that people's monthly electricity bill will increase by $2.35 for a five-and-a-half-room dwelling, $4.39 for a 111-square-metre house, $5.82 for a 158-square-metre house and $7.17 for a 207-square-metre house.

In February 2023, the Quebec legislature passed Bill 2, which capped the rate of price indexation for Hydro-Quebec's domestic distribution rates at three per cent.

Rates for businesses increased by 5.1 per cent.

This increase corresponds to the change in the Quebec Consumer Price Index between September 30, 2022 and September 30, 2023, the utility company said.

This adjustment applies to all business rates except for the large-power industrial rate, which increases by 3.3 per cent.

-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on April 1, 2024.