The Legault government has appointed a temporary president and general manager to head Hydro-Québec as Sophie Brochu is due to leave her position on April 11.
The Crown corporation chose Pierre Despars, its executive vice president of strategy and development.
At Hydro-Québec since 2020, Despars is a former employee of Energir, like Brochu, where he worked from 1991 to 2018.
He will begin his new duties on April 11.
At Hydro-Québec, Despars contributed to developing the 2022-2026 strategic plan. He also participated in finalizing the New York City electricity supply agreement and acquiring Great River Hydro in New England.
In the last few days, the Minister of Economy and Energy, Pierre Fitzgibbon, had mentioned that candidates were being considered by Hydro-Québec's board of directors, which would make a recommendation to the government, but that there was no specific timeframe as to when the process would be completed.
In the meantime, Despars "has the necessary experience" to act as interim CEO until the next head of Hydro-Québec is appointed, the minister commented on Twitter.
The chair of Hydro-Québec's board of directors, Jacynthe Côté, confirmed in a press release that the selection process to find the person who will lead the Crown corporation is underway.
Côté is also leaving the company at the end of her term in May. In February, Hydro-Québec's executive vice president and chief operating officer, Éric Filion, accepted a position at Bombardier.
Haroun Bouazzi, who is responsible for energy issues for Québec solidaire, is pushing for a short interim period. Hydro-Québec has been in crisis since Minister Fitzgibbon arrived.
While Sophie Brochu's departure has been known for months, the government has still not announced the person who will replace her.
Brochu announced in early January that she would leave her position on April 11, before the end of her mandate. Before this announcement, there were rumours that Brochu had a strained relationship with Minister Fitzgibbon, which both parties denied.
"It's not that," said Brochu at a press conference in February. "It's a personal move. It's an organizational move. For the future, it is healthy that there is someone more appropriate than I am to manage what is to be built."
Brochu believes that Hydro-Québec needs someone with a different profile to succeed her. To illustrate her point, she compared Hydro-Québec's strategic plan to building a house.
Like an architect, she explained that her strength is to draw the contours of the strategic plan in collaboration with civil society actors. The next step would require a person whose strength would be operational execution. She said: "Don't get me wrong, building the house is more difficult than designing it."
- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on April 5, 2023
