Our Actions in Six Areas
Contribution to the Québec Economy
- Our commitment to the future
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- Drive regional development
- Develop business partnerships
- Maintain our technological leadership
Because of its many projects, Hydro-Québec is a driving force in the provincial and regional economies: direct and indirect job creation, development of local expertise, procurement of goods and services, water-power royalties, taxes, land use, industrial tourism, etc.
Furthermore, considering innovation to be of paramount importance, Hydro-Québec continues to consolidate its expertise and technological leadership in the power industry. In research, the company makes good use of the know-how and skills of many partners here and elsewhere. We are also active in numerous organizations with a view to contributing to energy-related knowledge development.
Our main achievements in 2008
Infrastructure projects and operations
- Between 2004 and 2020, the main generation projects being studied or now under way represent capital spending of $15.8 billion, including regional economic spinoffs of $2.7 billion. For 2008 alone, the volume of construction activity costs was $2.4 billion.
| Main generating projects under study or under construction | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Project | Administrative region | Duration | Installed capacity | Total investment ($B) |
| Romaine complex | Côte-Nord | 2009–2020 | 1,550 MW | 6.5 |
| Eastmain-1-A/Sarcelle/Rupert project | Nord-du-Québec | 2007–2012 | 918 MW | 5.0 |
| Chute-Allard and Rapides-des-Cœurs developments | Mauricie | 2005–2009 | 138 MW | 1.0 |
| Péribonka development | Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean | 2004–2008 | 385 MW | 1.4 |
| Gentilly-2: generating station refurbishment and construction of solid radioactive waste management facilities | Centre-du-Québec | 2011–2012 | 675 MW | 1.9 |
| Total | 15.8 | |||
- Hydro-Québec procured goods and services worth nearly $2.7 billion in 2008, with 89% going to Québec businesses. (The 2007 total was $2.6 billion, with 94% in Québec.)
| Hydro-Québec's contribution to the Québec economy | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | |
| Permanent workforce as at December 31 | 19,009 | 19,116 | 19,459 | 19,297 |
| Temporary workforce (annual average) | 3,577 | 3,799 | 3,910 | 4,048 |
| Capital tax ($M) | 330 | 261 | 278 | 202 |
| Tax on public services ($M) | 229 | 230 | 240 | 302 |
| Water-power royalties ($M) | – | – | 263 | 546 |
| Municipal, school and other taxes ($M) | 36 | 36 | 35 | 37 |
| Procurement of goods and services inside and outside Québec ($M)a | 2,367 | 2,673 | 2,586 | 2,660 |
| Proportion procured from Québec businesses (%) | 92 | 92 | 94 | 89 |
| Direct jobs sustained by all procurement, including purchases outside Québec (person-years) | 12,654 | 14,000 | 13,000 | 11,462 |
- Excludes procurement by Société d'énergie de la Baie James.
Industrial tourism
Hydro-Québec's facilities and various sites operated in partnership with other organizations stimulate regional tourism. These facilities received 133,800 visitors in 2008, compared to 147,500 in 2007. This drop is attributable to the city of Québec's 400th anniversary celebrations, which attracted many tourists.
Among the facilities most frequently visited in 2008:
- Électrium (Montérégie): 18,377 visitors
- Beauharnois generating station (Montérégie): 9,584 visitors
- Manic-5 generating station and Daniel-Johnson dam (Côte-Nord): 6,659 visitors
- Robert-Bourassa hydroelectric development (Nord-du-Québec): 4,516 visitors
Financial performance
- Income from continuing operations was $3,012 million, an increase of $129 million compared to 2007.
- Net exports accounted for 8% of sales volume and 32% of income from continuing operations.
- Dividends declared were $2,252 million. Dividends for 2005 to 2008 totaled $7.8 billion.
Technological innovation
- We continued to develop management tools for balancing hydro and wind power, as well as models for simulating the behavior of wind turbines and wind farms connected to the Hydro-Québec grid.
- We formed a partnership to develop and market a wood preservation method; we have invested $2.7 million in this project since 2003.
Sharing our expertise
- Annual e8 Summit, held in La Malbaie, with the theme Climate Change and Technology: chaired by Thierry Vandal, this event was attended by the heads of the 10 leading electricity companies in the G8 member countries.
- Hydro-Québec sponsored the 13th international conference of the Secrétariat international francophone pour l'évaluation environnementale (SIFÉE); 400 delegates participated. The company was awarded a plaque recognizing its contribution to the organization's activities.
- As part of the 21st Entretiens du Centre Jacques Cartier, Hydro-Québec organized an international conference on Electricity and Climate Change: Carbon Markets and Adaptation Measures.
