Rates for business customers

Rate G

Rate G is the most common business rate. It applies to customers who are not billed for power demand or whose minimum billing demand is under 65 kilowatts (kW).

Rate G9

Rate G9 applies to large- or medium-power customers whose power demand is limited. This rate can be advantageous for companies with equipment that uses a significant amount of power over short periods — for example, golf course irrigation pumps or ski hill snow cannons.

Rate GD

Rate GD is an optional medium-power rate offered on backup power Hydro‑Québec sells to independent producers whose main generating source is temporarily unavailable or under maintenance. The electricity purchased is used to power essential loads and auxiliary services.

Rate M

Rate M applies to a contract whose maximum power demand has reached 50 kilowatts (kW) at least once in the last 12 monthly periods.

Rate L

Rate L applies to an annual contract whose contract power is 5,000 kilowatts (kW) or more and which is principally related to an industrial activity.

Rate LG

Rate LG applies to an annual contract whose minimum billing demand is 5,000 kilowatts (kW) or more and which is not principally related to an industrial activity.

Experimental Rate BR

Rate BR applies to contracts for electricity supplied to one or more electric vehicle charging stations rated 400 volts DC or more. It can also apply to a contract for electricity supplied to one or more 240‑volt charging stations.

Rate CB

Rate CB applies to a medium- or large-power contract under which electricity is delivered, in whole or in part, for cryptographic use applied to blockchains and where the installed capacity dedicated to this use is at least 50 kilowatts. More specifically, it applies to service contracts for cryptographic use fo mining or to maintain a cryptocurrency system in return for compensation.

Business rates north of the 53rd parallel

Business rates north of the 53rd parallel apply to the use of electricity by business customers when the electricity is supplied by an off-grid system located north of the 53rd parallel, except for the Schefferville system.

Public lighting rates

General electricity rates that apply to the public lighting service offered to federal, provincial and municipal authorities or to any person duly authorized by them.

Sentinel lighting rates

Sentinel lighting rates include the supply, operation and powering of Sentinel photoelectric‑cell luminaires. These luminaires are the property of Hydro‑Québec and are used for outdoor lighting, but not for public lighting. Hydro‑Québec has been gradually phasing out these rates since April 1, 2013.

Rate Flex G

Rate Flex G enables customers to save money in winter by shifting, at Hydro‑Québec’s request, their nonessential electricity consumption to outside peak demand events and by using less electricity during those events. It applies to Rate G contracts that are not billed for power demand, that is, those with a power demand below 50 kilowatts (kW).

Winter Credit Option for Rate G customers

The Winter Credit Option allows you to save during winter when you use less electricity than usual during peak periods, at Hydro-Québec’s request. This option is risk-free, because your electricity bill can only go down.

• Comparison of rate offerings

Dual-Energy Rate for Space Heating

The Small- and Medium-Power Dual-Energy Rate offers an interesting savings and GHG emissions reduction potential to business customers who use electricity as their main energy source for space heating and a fuel during very cold weather

See the installation specifications for contractors [PDF 445 kB]

Additional Electricity Option

This option allows large- or medium-power customers (Rate M, G9, L or LG) to use electricity beyond their normal consumption during Hydro‑Québec’s off-peak hours to fill a short-term order or meet an exceptional need.

• Additional Electricity Option – medium-power customers
• Additional Electricity Option – large-power customers

Additional Electricity Option for photosynthetic lighting or for space heating to raise crops

This option targets greenhouse growers who use all or part of the electricity supplied by Hydro‑Québec for photosynthetic lighting or space heating to raise crops. More specifically, it applies to Rate D, DP, DM, G, M, G9 or LG contracts where the electricity is used for the purposes stated above and the maximum power demand has reached 50 kilowatts (kW) at least once in the last 12 monthly periods preceding the date of the sign‑up request.

Interruptible Electricity Options

Under these rate options, Hydro‑Québec offers credits to large - or medium-power customers (Rate M, G9, L or LG) in exchange for curtailing their electricity consumption at its request.

• Interruptible Electricity Options – medium-power or Rate LG customers
• Interruptible Electricity Options – Rate L customers

Running-in of new equipment

Certain conditions are available to large- or medium-power customers (Rate M, L or LG) wishing to put new equipment into service, which can result in a higher power demand for a few months until their operations have been optimized. Under these conditions, such customers can be temporarily exempt from certain rate provisions applicable to power demand billing.

• Running-in of new equipment – medium-power customers
• Running-in of new equipment – large-power customers

Equipment testing

Certain conditions are available to large- and medium-power customers (Rate M, G9, L or LG) who need to run short tests after adding new equipment or modifying or optimizing existing equipment, a situation that runs the risk of temporarily increasing power demand. These conditions allow the equipment to be tested without the customer being billed for the excess power used during the test period(s).

• Equipment testing – medium-power customers
• Equipment testing – large-power customers

Net Metering Option for a Rate G customer-generator

This rate option allows a Rate G customer-generator to feed its surplus electricity back into the Hydro‑Québec grid in exchange for credits applied to their electricity bill. If the power they generate is not enough to meet their needs, customer-generators can draw power from the Hydro‑Québec grid and enjoy reliable, high-quality service.

Learn more about the Net Metering Option for:

Rate G customer-generators – Option I

Rate G customer-generators whose electricity is supplied by an off-grid system – Option III

Demand Response Option

The Demand Response (DR) Option is a rate option for Hydro‑Québec’s business customers. It allows eligible customers to receive a credit if they reduce their power demand during peak demand events at the request of Hydro‑Québec.