The price of electricity: The gap widens between Québec and the rest of the continent

Electricity prices are lower in Québec than anywhere else in Canada or North America.

In Montréal, residential customers pay 7.13¢ per kilowatthour (kWh), compared to 11.42¢ in Vancouver and 13.24¢ in Toronto. The same quantity of power costs C 31.52¢ in Boston.

A widening gap

Winnipeg currently ranks second-lowest in terms of residential rates, at 9¢ per kWh, but Manitoba Hydro anticipates having to raise its rates by nearly 8% over the coming years. Hydro-Québec, on the other hand, has filed an application with the Régie de l’énergie requesting an increase of only 0.8% for 2019–2020.

“Hydro-Québec is proud to have upheld its commitment to maintain rate hikes below inflation for the past three years,” stated Éric Martel, Hydro-Québec’s President and Chief Executive Officer.

According to a recent comparative study on electricity prices, Montréal placed second among large Canadian cities for the lowest rate increases implemented in the past four years. Toronto came in first, with a 0.5¢ decrease, but power costs nearly twice as much there as it does in Montréal.