The rumblings from Quebec sound ominous, but officials at Hydro-Quebec say the provincial utility’s power supply contract with Massachusetts is rock solid.
The contract was signed more than four years ago. No electricity has started flowing yet because of repeated delays associated with the Maine transmission line slated to deliver the electricity to the New England power grid. Those delays appear to be coming to an end, just as talk in Quebec has become more pointed about an upcoming shift from power surpluses to power shortages within the next three to four years.
“Our surpluses have melted like glaciers under the sun of climate change,” said Pierre Fitzgibbon, Quebec’s energy minister, at a luncheon with a business group on Friday.
For years, Quebec has been viewed as a place where hydroelectricity is cheap and plentiful. Residents paid far less for electricity and energy-intensive businesses flocked to the province. But now Quebec is looking to decarbonize and realizing it’s going to need a lot more power to electrify its transportation and building/housing sectors.
Hydro-Quebec currently has 40 wind farms producing nearly 4,000 megawatts of energy, but the utility wants to increase its capacity to at least 16,000 megawatts by 2040. It is setting very ambitious energy efficiency targets, upgrading its existing generating facilities to increase output, and exploring the building of new power-generating dams on the Little Mecatina River, a process that could take 10 to 15 years.
But it remains unclear whether those measures will be sufficient. “To achieve decarbonization and develop our strategic sectors, we will need energy. Lots and lots of energy. Is it 100 terawatt-hours? 150 TWH? More? As we look toward 2050, I know one thing: nobody really knows,” Fitzgibbon told the business group. “But one thing is for sure, the needs will be huge. And for the next 10 years, it will be tight and choices will have to be made.”
While Quebec is struggling with its decarbonization efforts, officials say there is no retreating on electricity export contracts Hydro-Quebec signed with Massachusetts and New York to help decarbonization efforts in those states. The power contracts, the officials say, have already been built into the utility’s electricity calculations for the next 20 years.
“Yes, we have enough energy, enough capacity to deliver energy to Massachusetts, to New England,” Hydro-Québec Chief Financial Officer Jean-Hugues Lafleur said earlier this month.. “When we signed the contract in 2018 we had enough energy, and we still have enough energy to supply the New England region.”
The officials also dismiss claims by a small group of Maine lawmakers opposed to the transmission line who have urged Gov. Maura Healey to back out of the contract with Hydro-Quebec.
“We signed a contract. We intend to honor that contract,” said Lynn St.-Lauren, a spokeswoman for Hydro-Quebec.
BRUCE MOHL
FROM COMMONWEALTH
Grid upgrades: Gov. Maura Healey is seeking $250 million in federal funding to build out grid interconnections on the South Coast for offshore wind and solar power. The grant application appears to be a first step in a regional collaboration to promote development of offshore wind. Read more.
Healey appoints Gobi: The governor named Sen. Anne Gobi as her new director of rural affairs. The appointment puts Gobi’s seat up for grabs in an upcoming special election. Read more.
OPINION
No half-measures on net-zero goal: Sen. Cynthia Creem and Reps. Jennifer Armini and Steven Owens say the state needs to pursue a real plan for net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, not the “business as usual” proposals from gas companies. Read more.
FROM AROUND THE WEB
BEACON HILL
The Cannabis Control Commission scraps plans for a pilot project on marijuana cafes and instead will focus on a broader launch. (State House News Service)
Rahsaan Hall, a former ACLU lawyer who ran for Plymouth district attorney last year, has been named the new CEO of the Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts. (Boston Globe)
MUNICIPAL MATTERS
Mayor Michelle Wu announces a new plan to promote pedestrian safety and reduce automobile crashes in Boston. (Boston Globe)
Boston city councilors seem close to agreement on a new redistricting plan after their first stab was thrown out by a federal judge. (Boston Herald)
WASHINGTON/NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL
President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy voiced optimism after their latest negotiations over the debt ceiling – but no deal yet. (New York Times)
EDUCATION
A police officer accidentally discharged his gun at St. John’s Prep in Danvers after law enforcement officials converged on the school for what turned out to be a hoax call about an active shooter on campus. (Salem News)
Two weeks after a student publication at Amherst Regional High School raised concerns about several administrators’ and counselors’ treatment of LGBTQ students, the district’s assistant superintendent was placed on leave. (MassLive)
CRIMINAL JUSTICE/COURTS
Hate crimes, led by antisemitic incidents and actions targeting anti-LGBTQ+ events, rose by a third in Massachusetts last year, according to a new report by the Anti-Defamation League. (Boston Globe)
Three people sue Cardinal Sean Patrick O’Malley over alleged sexual abuse by the former principal of Arlington Catholic High School. (WBUR)
A Massachusetts father and son were sentenced to prison and ordered to pay $6 million in restitution on Monday for a decade-long $21 million lottery and tax fraud scheme. (MassLive)
GBH News has a backgrounder on acting US Attorney Joshua Levy, who assumed the role on Friday after Rachael Rollins stepped down amid a swirl of ethics controversy.
MEDIA
Brookline.News, a non-profit online news source covering the town of Brookline, launched its website today.
PASSINGS
Rick Hoyt, who became an inspiring symbol as he completed 32 Boston Marathons as part of a two-man team with his late father Dick Hoyt, who pushed his wheelchair-bound son through the 26-mile-plus course, died at age 61 of respiratory system complications. (Boston Globe)