Rate D
Rate for residential and farm customers
Rate D generally applies to domestic or household use. It is the basic rate charged to most residential customers. It also applies to farms.
Cases in which Rate D applicables
- Dwellings for which the electricity is metered separately in most cases
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Farms: Land, buildings and equipment used to raise crops or livestock, excluding any commercial activity or industrial activity
See our eligibility criteria regarding domestic rates for farms [PDF 583 KB] - Apartment buildings for which the electricity is metered separately or in bulk if the apartment building was built after April 1, 2008
- Community residences consisting of individual units (separate metering)
- Community residences (9 rooms or less)
- Rooming houses (9 rooms or less)
- Bed and breakfasts (9 rooms or less)
- Foster families or foster homes (9 people or less)
- Tourist homes (separate metering)
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Residential outbuildings, that is, any buildings or installations belonging to premises used for habitation purposes
- used exclusively by the persons occupying the dwelling or apartment building
- used exclusively for purposes related to those of the dwelling or apartment building
- Portion of electricity used for purposes other than habitation (installed capacity 10 kilowatts (kW) or less)
Myth or fact?
Myth
Rate D does indeed have two-tiered pricing:
- /kWh for energy consumed up to 40 kWh per day times the number of days in the consumption period (1st tier)
- /kWh for the remaining energy consumed (2nd tier)
We do not bill based on your daily consumption. We take into account your total consumption during the consumption period, which is more beneficial for you.
For example, if your consumption period covers 62 days, 2,480 kWh (40 kWh per day x 62 days = 2,480 kWh) will be billed at the first-tier price. Any remaining energy consumption will be billed using the second-tier price.
Myth
The heritage pool and the price of the first 40 kWh used per day at Rate D are two different things.
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Heritage pool:
Hydro‑Québec's generation segment supplies the company's distribution segment with a block of energy of 165 TWh of electricity per year at a competitive price. This is commonly referred to as the heritage pool. It ensures a low rate for Quebecers.
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Price for the first 40 kWh used per day under Rate D (/kWh):
This price, approved by the Régie de l’énergie, is determined based on the cost of several components such as electricity supply (including the heritage pool), power transmission, distribution system operation and maintenance, and customer service. The heritage pool is one of the factors used to set our rates.
Fact
Our residential rates are indeed the lowest in North America. For over 50 years, electricity prices in Québec have increased more or less at the same rate as inflation.
See our publication Comparison of Electricity Prices in Major North American Cities.
More information
To find out more about Rate D, consult Section 2 of Chapter 2 of the Electricity Rates [PDF 1.44 MB].
How to request electricity service
Separate metering
Method of measuring energy consumed with a separate meter for each residential or commercial unit in a building.
Bulk metering
Method of measuring energy consumed with a single meter instead of separate meters for an entire multiunit commercial or residential building. The building owner is responsible for dividing the costs between the occupants.
Energy
Power used by electrical equipment over a given period of time. Expressed in kilowatthours (kWh), energy is calculated as power, expressed in kilowatts (kW), multiplied by the time during which the power is used, expressed in hours (h).
The formula for energy is as follows: energy (in kilowatthours) is equal to power (in kilowatts) multiplied by duration of use (in hours).
Energy (kWh) = power (kW) x time used (h).
Consumption period
Period during which electricity is delivered to the customer and which extends between the two dates used by Hydro‑Québec for calculation of the bill.