Quebec energy board commissioners have suffered major back-to-back legal and political losses after the Court of Appeal overturned a lower court decision that held they performed quasi-judicial functions and the provincial government passed a sweeping and controversial reform that fundamentally weakens the regulatory powers of the Régie de l’énergie.
The Quebec government invoked closure in the wee hours of a weekend morning to fast-track a contentious energy bill that will introduce widespread changes to the way the province’s energy sector operates, giving Hydro-Québec free rein to increase its electricity production, with the utility expected to invest some $200 billion by 2025. Bill 69, introduced in June 2024 but passed with the addition of 52 amendments at the last minute without public consultation, allows Hydro-Québec to bypass tendering rules when awarding certain contracts.
But most alarmingly for critics, the new law curbs the independent oversight imparted by the Régie de l’énergie, an economic regulatory administrative tribunal that oversees the energy sector in Quebec. The Régie, established in 1997, had up until the passage of Bill 69 the power to set the rates and conditions of services for Quebec electricity and natural gas consumers after holding public hearings. Under Bill 69, the provincial government has given itself the right to impose an annual cap on residential rates on the Régie, and that spells trouble for small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs), according to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB). “The politicization of electricity rates” means that SMEs will be subsidizing lower electricity costs for other consumers, maintains the business group.