How Quebec's regulated electricity market works

Quebec kept its electricity market vertically integrated rather than deregulating it the way Alberta did in the late 1990s. The result is simpler for customers: one utility, one bill, one regulator. The utility that owns the wires at your address is also the company that generates or buys the energy and sends you the bill. There is no separate retailer to switch to, no fixed-vs-variable plan to compare. Rates are approved by the Regie de l'energie du Quebec after public hearings.

One utility per address
Vertically integrated
  • Owns the wires, poles, transformers, meter
  • Generates or buys the energy you consume
  • Sends a single combined bill each month
  • Rates approved by the Regie de l'energie
No retail choice
Different from Alberta and Ontario
  • ×No competitive electricity retailers in Quebec
  • ×No fixed-rate vs variable-rate plans to compare
  • ×No Rate of Last Resort or default supplier confusion
  • ×The only way to a different utility is to move

All 11 Quebec electricity utilities

Click any card for the full contact, outage, rates and territory page.

Hydro-Quebec
Hydro-Quebec
Montreal

Crown corporation (provincially owned)

Customers: approximately 4.5 million customer accounts (residential, commercial, industrial)
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Hydro-Sherbrooke
Hydro-Sherbrooke
Sherbrooke

Municipal electricity distributor (city department)

Customers: approximately 84,000 customer accounts
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Hydro-Jonquiere
Hydro-Jonquiere
Saguenay (Jonquiere borough)

Municipal electricity distributor (city department)

Customers: approximately 30,000 customer accounts
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Hydro-Joliette
Hydro-Joliette
Joliette

Municipal electricity distributor (city department)

Customers: approximately 13,000 customer accounts
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Hydro-Alma
Hydro-Alma
Alma

Municipal electricity distributor (city department)

Customers: approximately 14,000 customer accounts
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Hydro-Magog
Hydro-Magog
Magog

Municipal electricity distributor (city department)

Customers: approximately 14,000 customer accounts
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Hydro-Coaticook
Hydro-Coaticook
Coaticook

Municipal electricity distributor (city department)

Customers: approximately 5,400 customer accounts
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Hydro-Westmount
Hydro-Westmount
Westmount

Municipal electricity distributor (city department)

Customers: approximately 7,300 customer accounts
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Reseau electrique d'Amos
Reseau electrique d'Amos
Amos

Municipal electricity distributor (city department)

Customers: approximately 6,000 customer accounts
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Hydro Baie-Comeau
Hydro Baie-Comeau
Baie-Comeau

Municipal electricity distributor (city department)

Customers: approximately 5,500 customer accounts
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Coop Saint-Jean-Baptiste-de-Rouville
Coop Saint-Jean-Baptiste-de-Rouville
Saint-Jean-Baptiste

Rural electricity cooperative

Customers: approximately 1,300 member-customer accounts
View utility

How to find your electricity utility in 60 seconds

1
Check your bill

The utility name and logo appear at the top of every Quebec electricity bill alongside your account number. There is only one company billing you.

2
Match your city

If you live in Sherbrooke, Westmount, Joliette, Magog, Alma, Coaticook, Amos, Baie-Comeau or the Jonquiere borough of Saguenay, you are on the municipal utility. Otherwise, you are on Hydro-Quebec.

3
Ask your landlord or syndic

In rental and condo settings, the building manager will confirm which utility services the address. Useful when you move in mid-month.

Frequently asked questions

How many electricity utilities operate in Quebec?
Eleven residential electricity distributors operate in Quebec. Hydro-Quebec (Crown corporation) serves about 99 % of the province. Nine municipal utilities (Sherbrooke, Westmount, Joliette, Magog, Hydro-Jonquiere within the City of Saguenay, Coaticook, Alma, Amos, Baie-Comeau) serve their respective city limits, and one rural cooperative (Coop Saint-Jean-Baptiste-de-Rouville) serves a small area in the Monteregie. All are regulated by the Regie de l'energie du Quebec.

Can I choose my electricity supplier in Quebec?
No. Unlike Alberta or Ontario, Quebec kept a regulated, vertically integrated electricity market. Each address has a single utility that owns the wires, generates or buys the energy and bills you. There are no licensed competitive electricity retailers for residential customers in Quebec. The only way to be served by a different utility is to move into a different service area.

How do I find out which utility serves my address?
Check your most recent electricity bill: the utility name and logo appear at the top alongside your account number. If you live inside the city limits of Sherbrooke, Westmount, Joliette, Magog, Alma, Coaticook, Amos, Baie-Comeau or the Jonquiere borough of Saguenay, you are on that city's municipal utility. If you live in the rural area around Saint-Jean-Baptiste-de-Rouville, you may be on the cooperative. Everywhere else, you are on Hydro-Quebec.

Who regulates electricity utilities in Quebec?
The Regie de l'energie du Quebec approves rates, reviews revenue requirement applications, approves major capital projects and oversees service-quality reporting. Public hearings; full document registry at regie-energie.qc.ca. The municipal utilities and the cooperative are also regulated by the Regie but with simplified procedures reflecting their small size.

Who do I call for a power outage?
Always your distributor, never a third party. Save the 24/7 number for your utility: Hydro-Quebec 1-800-790-2424, Hydro-Sherbrooke 819-821-5400, Hydro Westmount 514-989-5350, Hydro-Joliette 450-753-8050, Hydro-Magog 819-843-3333, Hydro-Jonquiere (Saguenay) 418-695-7100, Hydro-Coaticook 819-849-2721, Hydro-Alma 418-669-5030, Amos 819-732-3254, Hydro Baie-Comeau 418-296-8334, Coop Saint-Jean-Baptiste-de-Rouville 450-467-1486. For a downed live wire or any life-threatening situation, dial 911 first.

Why are Quebec electricity rates among the lowest in North America?
Quebec's grid runs almost entirely on legacy publicly-owned hydroelectric generation built between the 1940s and the 1990s on the Manicouagan, La Grande and Saint-Maurice river systems. The very low operating cost of paid-down hydro dams is reflected in Regie-approved rates, which are set on a cost-of-service basis and not on a market price. The trade-off is no retail choice and a single set of rates province-wide for residential customers of Hydro-Quebec. Municipal utilities and the cooperative set their own rates under Regie oversight, generally in line with the Hydro-Quebec residential schedule.