Our main achievements in 2010
Society
Hydro-Québec published its first policy on interaction with the public in 1978. Over the years, the company has developed and implemented a public participation process intended to boost the acceptability of its development projects.
Public participation involves taking the various publics' concerns and expectations into account when decisions are made so that projects will blend in with their environment and be accepted by the host community.
This approach requires true public participation at every stage in project development. Projects must meet three criteria. They must be:
- profitable,
- environmentally acceptable, and
- favorably received by local communities.
The public participation process is developed by the project teams, who work with the community relations teams in each region. The latter are responsible for fostering agreement with community representatives.
For generation projects, the process is based on the signature of agreements with regional county municipalities (RCMs) and the Aboriginal communities concerned, as well as on information and discussion panels organized with host community stakeholders. These activities are supported by communication procedures that enable local stakeholders to have direct, ongoing discussions with Hydro-Québec.
For transmission projects, the participation process generally involves three communication phases: general information on the project, consultation regarding variants (line routes or substation locations) and information on the solution selected by Hydro-Québec.
The table below illustrates the public participation process and the steps in obtaining government approvals for a generation project or major transmission project.1
1 Transmission projects subject to Section 31.1 of the Environment Quality Act that usually involve voltage exceeding 315 kV.
Our main achievements in 2010
Aboriginal and other communities
Hydro-Québec surveyed RCMs, urban communities and other municipalities in Québec to determine their expectations and satisfaction with the company's operations. The overall satisfaction rate was 7.73 out of 10, up from 7.59 in 2007, the year of the previous survey. Municipal liaison committees (in French only)
Romaine complex: The agreements signed with the communities of Ekuanitshit, Nutashkuan, and Unamen Shipu and Pakua Shipi are monitored by Innu–Hydro-Québec joint ventures that serve as discussion and coordination forums, and administer the funding provided under the agreements to finance economic, environmental, social and cultural projects proposed by the Innu communities.
Romaine project and partnerships with the communities (in French only)
Romaine project and social acceptability (in French only)Eastmain-1-A/Sarcelle/Rupert project: We visited six Cree communities to meet with the tallymen directly affected by the project and inform them about Hydro-Québec's follow-up on commitments and the work carried out in their area. The Crees are consulted at every stage of development of the mitigation measures and participate in implementing many of them.
Eastmain-1-A/Sarcelle/Rupert project and social acceptabilityTwo new permanent Cree employees were hired, bringing the total number of Crees working for Hydro-Québec in Baie-James to 45.
Educating personnel on Aboriginal issues: 140 employees received training about Aboriginal nations and communities, and the company's business relations with them.
| Examples of public participation - 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PROJECT | STATUS | REGION | ACHIEVEMENTS | |
| Kuujjuaq thermal power plant | Commissioned in 2010 | Nord-du-Québec | Public consultation (Inuit community of Kuujjuaq and Nayumivik Landholding Corporation) on the location of the new power plant. All facilities were grouped together in one place to optimize equipment management and preserve the surrounding wetlands. | |
| 120-kV line for the Massif-du-Sud wind farm | Under study | Chaudière-Appalaches | After consultation, a route was chosen that involves major modifications but meets community requests deemed technically and environmentally acceptable. The optimized route bypasses a woodland and the water supply sources of a fish farm, uses an existing snowmobile trail and reduces impacts on farmland. The route's length was increased from 23.9 to 25 km, with no impact on the project's economic viability. | |
| Transmission system upgrade in the northeastern part of metropolitan Montréal | Under study | Montréal | Meetings were held with borough and city of Montréal authorities. Topics discussed included optimizing the location of the new Bélanger substation to deal with urban planning concerns of the borough of Saint-Léonard while satisfying technical, environmental and economic criteria. Then, information meetings were held and bulletins distributed to residents. |
|
| Transmission system expansion in the Minganie region | Awaiting authorization | Côte-Nord | Elected officials were visited and informed of project progress and potential economic spinoffs. The Bureau des audiences publiques sur l'environnement discussed project details and answered the public's questions. | |
| Ontario interconnection from Outaouais substation | Completed in 2010 | Outaouais | A Project Summary bulletin was circulated to wind up the project; it describes public participation highlights and technical, economic and environmental factors. | |
- Sustainability Report 2010, p. 28-30
Community investments
Hydro-Québec provided $18.3 million in donations and sponsorships to support activities in the following areas: culture, health, social and humanitarian aid, education and youth, socioeconomic development, science, sports, the environment and sustainability.
Donations and sponsorships granted in 2010- ENERGY WISE Home Diagnostic: Approximately 1.2 million personalized recommendation reports have been produced since the program was introduced in 2004, for potential savings of 368 GWh per year. Under the community-based component of the program, which ended in 2010, 973 communities received $10.4 million from Hydro-Québec to carry out local and regional projects related to the environment, culture, sports, recreation, etc.
ENERGY WISE Home Diagnostic - Under the Integrated Enhancement Program, communities where new Hydro-Québec transmission facilities are built are offered financial assistance for initiatives to enhance the biophysical and human environments. Since 1985, Hydro-Québec has financed 1,061 community initiatives for a total of $108.6 million, including $5.9 million in 2010.
Integrated Enhancement Program (Web site in French only, bilingual documents available) - The Fondation Hydro-Québec pour l'environnement granted $0.96 million to support 15 projects to protect, restore and enhance natural habitats. Since its creation in 2001, the Foundation has committed $9.7 million to 160 projects.
Fondation Hydro-Québec pour l'environnement Hydro-Québec art collection: 21 works of art (photographs, paintings, prints) by 12 artists were acquired. The collection, which consists of more than 1,000 works by 500 Québec artists, is displayed in the company's administrative buildings.
| Donations and sponsorships ($M) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | |
| Total donations and sponsorships by Hydro-Québec | 24.7 | 25.9 | 22.5 | 18.3 |
| Note: In 2010, Hydro-Québec donated $2.9 million to United Way/Centraide, while its employees and pensioners donated $2.9 million. | ||||
- Sustainability Report 2010, p. 30-32
LBG Canada (London Benchmarking Group Canada) is an organization that provides a standardized approach for assessing the value and impact of its members community investments. Hydro-Québec contributions which meet LBG Canada's criteria for community investments are designated by the LBG logo. In 2010, 94% of the donations and sponsorships granted by Hydro-Québec constituted community investments according to LBG's criteria. The remaining 6% went to communities to support a variety of activities.
Sharing and disseminating expertise
- More than 7,000 participants from 130 countries
- 300 speakers
- 450 scientific, technical and other presentations
- Over 50 energy ministers
- Spinoffs of $30 million
Hydro-Québec hosted the 21st World Energy Congress with the theme Responding Now to Global Challenges - Energy in Transition for a Living Planet. More than 7,000 participants addressed such topics as sustainability and the need for universal access to energy in order to ensure equitable economic and social development.
86,250 workbooks were given to preschoolers and elementary school students to teach them about the potential hazards of improper use of electricity.
Teacher's resources: teaching material and resourcesEducational kits were distributed to 90,000 children age 9 to 12, to teach them about the environmental issues related to power consumption and the different sources of energy.
Teacher's resources: teaching material and resourcesThe company participated in 34 events and manned booths with numerous themes related to sustainability and energy efficiency. Tens of thousands of people attended these events.
Nearly 50 presentations were made at Québec universities and colleges on topics including comparison of energy options, lessons learned from 40 years of environmental studies, sustainability, social responsibility and greenhouse gas emissions from reservoirs. About 2,000 students attended these talks.
- Sustainability Report 2010, p. 32-33
