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Same for Hydro-Québec but power is cheap. Would be much cheaper if you took some of the fat out, but at least the management doesn't get mega corp salaries. Too
by angry_octet 7y ago
Same for Hydro-Québec but power is cheap. Would be much cheaper if you took some of the fat out, but at least the management doesn't get mega corp salaries. Too cheap really -- dynamic dispatch power used for base load, no incentive for other renewables, could sell more of it to NY.
- jariel 7y agoQuebec has a ton of cheap Hydro. But it's also subsidised $500M by the QC government and the rest of Canada. If Quebec elected to provide direct subsidies to citizens, then that would have to be paid for by QC gov. and nobody else. But what they do is sneaky - they merely give Hydro Quebec $500M directly every year to 'invest in energy' - which they do, but they also operate magically at a $500M loss. But because 'energy investments' are part of equalisation payments - the other provinces have to help pay for this subsidy. FYI I'm not perfectly sure of the $500M figure, I think it's more. Also, it's not 'management' necessarily where the pay problem is at Hydro One. I think the CEO was making $1M a year, and that's not a lot. It's the thousands of linemen making >$100K and the massive pension costs.
- angry_octet 7y agoProvincial equalisation is too big a can of worms to open in this thread! But HQ is a pillar of working class socialism, much like the auto industry or national airlines used to be in the age of tariffs and extreme regulation, but it has the benefit of monopoly power based on geography and infrastructure sunk costs. HQ does a lot right, and they are starting to innovate with demand pricing, digitalnload control etc. Might be the comfort factor of no retail competition will allow them to do things others can't. A number of ultra remote communities where there are micro grids, and trying to move off diesel.