Cable supply - A $108-million contract awarded to General Cable at its Saint-Jérôme and Shawinigan plants

Hydro-Québec has retained General Cable as its main cable supplier for the next three years and is awarding it a contract valued at an estimated $108 million.

The remainder of the supply will be shared between Prysmian (Ontario) and Southwire (United States), which were awarded contracts respectively worth $17 million and $56 million.

Cables are an indispensable product to ensure electricity supply to Québec customers, be it for the numerous projects to come or for repairing the grid during failures. In addition, for reliability and safety reasons, Hydro-Québec cannot depend on a single supplier for such an essential product. 

From 2009 to 2014, the Québec cable market has gone from having four suppliers with five plants to a single supplier (General Cable) with two plants (Saint-Jérôme and Shawinigan).

Hydro-Québec must reach a balance between economic development in Québec and the price paid, since purchases have an impact on electricity rates. In 2014, goods and services purchased from Québec companies reached $3.3 billion, of which 94% was from Québec-based companies.