Map / Provinces / QC

Quebec

Hydro-Québec; Régie de l'énergie regulates tariffs

Went from selling surplus hydro to data centres to actively pricing and gatekeeping them out.

Publishes nothing project level. There is no AESO-equivalent. Quebec publishes no connection queue, no interconnection request list, no project numbers, no staged MW, and no in-service dates. Nothing project-level with a capacity figure exists in the public domain. What IS published, and its exact limits: 1) MEIE 'Blocs d'électricité octroyés' table (quebec.ca, page last updated 5 May 2026). Verified 2026-08-02: still no queue of applicants. Québec does, however, publish the authorisations it has already granted. The provincial energy authorisation page lists 30 blocks of power authorised since 2023, roughly 1,500 MW, with company name, location and a project description, plus a further 800 MW across 55 public-interest projects. That is the closest thing Québec has to a project-level disclosure: it shows who got power, never who is waiting for it.

The record

Operator detail

Correction: Hydro-Québec connects, but it does not approve. Hydro-Québec is the vertically integrated utility, Hydro-Québec TransÉnergie owns/operates the ≥44 kV transmission system and does the connection studies; Hydro-Québec Distribution holds the exclusive distribution right and signs the service contract.

Route to power

Concrete path for a 100+ MW data centre in Quebec as of 1 August 2026: Step 0, Siting against published headroom. Check the December 2025 Hydro-Québec zone map. Only five of the 13 targeted zones show ≥100 MW residual transmission capacity without reinforcement: Sept-Îles 150 MW, Chibougamau 120 MW, Baie-Comeau 100 MW, Beauharnois 100 MW, Montréal-Est 100 MW. If no zone fits, you request a paid connection study ("étude de raccordement") from Hydro-Québec, which produces an avant-projet specifying scope, cost and schedule. Step 1, The named process is the "autorisation pour le raccordement d'un projet d'une puissance de 5 MW et plus" (informally, the "bloc d'électricité" process).

Typical timeline

Not publicly stated for a load of this size. Do not infer one. What is actually on the record: - s. 76 of the Régie Act imposes a ministerial decision deadline of 15 Business days from receipt of Hydro-Québec's recommendation Only for requests up to 50 MW concerning a consumer whose establishment is already served by the distributor's network.

Binding constraint

There is no numeric cap and no moratorium. The binding constraint is Discretionary ministerial allocation of a scarce energy balance, compounded by very thin local transmission headroom. It is not comparable to Alberta's 1,200 MW interim cap, it is looser on paper and tighter in practice. Correction to the premise: Quebec has Not run block allocation calls for data centre load. The only block RFP Hydro-Québec has ever run in this space was the 300 MW non-firm block for "cryptographic use applied to blockchains," launched 5 June 2019 following Régie decision of 29 April 2019, crypto mining only, not data centres.

Behind the fence

Yes for pure self-consumption. Heavily restricted for anything else. Bill 69 changed this in 2025. Permitted, self-consumption. Section 60 of the Act respecting the Régie de l'énergie, as amended by Bill 69 s. 52 (in force 7 June 2025), now expressly states: "Ce droit n'empêche pas quiconque de consommer l'électricité qu'il produit." Hydro-Québec's exclusive distribution right does not prevent anyone from consuming electricity they generate. So a data centre may build on-site generation for its own load.

Interconnection

Any project drawing 5 MW or more (50 kW or more for blockchain/crypto) has required ministerial authorization since 2023. Bill 69 (adopted June 2025) expanded government control over electricity allocation. Hydro-Québec has separately proposed to the Régie de l'énergie a dedicated, roughly double-price tariff for data centres.

Tariff

A dedicated data centre tariff (~13 cents/kWh) is filed but not yet approved as of mid-2026; existing data centres get a five-year phase-in. Treat as proposed, not final.

Years to grid power

n/a for uninvited projects; multi-year for approved ones

Years behind the fence

n/a, gas generation is not a realistic substitute in Quebec's hydro-dominant, low-emissions-permitting environment

Basis for those years

Grid figure: government controls entry via 5 MW+ ministerial authorization (2023) and has stated an intent to allocate 1,000 MW to data centres by 2035 (planning horizon, not a connection-time commitment). BTF figure: no active BTF gas pathway for data centres found in sourced material. Verified 2026-08-02 against the provincial authorisation page: the gate is 5 MW and above, the decision is the government's rather than Hydro-Québec's, and it is assessed against seven published criteria including network impact, economic benefit to Québec, greenhouse gas emissions, social acceptability and project maturity. No decision timeline is published.

Dated events

• 2026-10-01 Régie de l'énergie hearing on R-4333-2026 (Rate CD and Rate CB) scheduled 1-9 October 2026, following a 3 March 2026 public notice, 16 March 2026 intervention deadline, 8 April 2026 preparatory meeting and 20 July 2026 evidence deadline.
• 2026-07-08 BLG publishes 'Data centre regulation in Québec: from honeyed promise to iron control,' documenting the Rate LG ramp-up underperformance charge: Hydro-Québec reviews a customer's usage over the previous 12 billing periods, and if the customer's maximum power demand during that period is less than 60% of the reserved capacity, a charge applies. The article notes that several data centre operators have challenged the validity of this charge before the Québec Superior Court, with the outcome still pending.
• 2026-06-30 Government of Quebec launches its first Plan de gestion intégrée des ressources énergétiques (PGIRE) 2026-2050, required by Bill 69.
• 2026-06 Current revision of Hydro-Québec form 963-3367 'Development project of 5 MW or more', version (2026-06). Adds/retains Appendix 2 for data centres (category incl. Hyperscale; use incl.
• 2026-05-05 MEIE's official '5 MW and more' authorization process page describes dual filing to Formulaireprojet5MW@hydroquebec.com and blocselectricite@economie.gouv.qc.ca. All projects, without exception, are analyzed simultaneously by Hydro-Québec and the Ministry to minimize processing delays, and the process has three possible outcomes: refusal (the project is not accepted, but a new application may be filed), deferral (the request stays active and pending, with a meeting available to discuss elements needing improvement), or preliminary approval (pre-authorized projects must then follow further steps set out by the government).
• 2026-04-01 Bill 69 rate provisions (ss. 93, 107, 110, 129, 146-148, 150-152, 154) come into force. Rate L is abolished; Rate LG (general rate for large-power customers, minimum billing demand ≥5,000 kW) governs, with the 2026 rate schedule effective the same date.
• 2026-03-31 As-of date of the MEIE authorized-blocks tally: 30 electricity blocks totalling approximately 1,500 MW authorized for industrial projects since 2023 (four marked cancelled), plus approximately 800 MW across 55 public-interest projects.
• 2026-02-19 Hydro-Québec press release announcing Rate CD at an average ~13 ¢/kWh (about double large-power) and a revised blockchain Rate CB at ~19.5 ¢/kWh with three-year transition.

Tracked projects

Announced capacity is what the proponent has stated. Energized capacity is what is drawing. They are different figures and are never summed. How the figures reconcile.

Sources

• Bill 69 / Loi assurant la gouvernance responsable des ressources énergétiques (LQ 2025, c. 24) — official statute text, ss. 52, 53, 63, 193 2025-06-07
• Loi visant notamment à plafonner le taux d'indexation... et à accroître l'encadrement de l'obligation de distribuer de l'électricité (LQ 2023, c. 1) — official statute text, ss. 7-10 (origin of the 5,000 kW authorization and the 2 December 2022 grandfathering date) 2023-02-16
• Gouvernement du Québec — Obtenir l'autorisation pour le raccordement d'un projet d'une puissance de 5 MW et plus (process page + 'Blocs d'électricité octroyés' table) 2026-05-05
• Hydro-Québec — Capacités de raccordement de projets industriels au réseau de transport: 13 zones de développement industriel ciblées 2025-12
• Hydro-Québec — Announcement of wind RFP 2026-01 and public release of power-system capacity mapping 2025-12-11
• Hydro-Québec — Des tarifs pour les centres de données et les chaînes de blocs qui refléteront la valeur de notre électricité renouvelable 2026-02-19
• Régie de l'énergie R-4333-2026, HQD-2 Doc 1.1 — Texte proposé pour le nouveau tarif visant les centres de données (Tarif CD) 2026-02-18
• Régie de l'énergie — docket R-4333-2026 (fixation des tarifs centres de données et usage cryptographique), procedural calendar 2026-02-19
• Régie de l'énergie R-4333-2026, HQD-3 Doc 1.1 — Décret 89-2026 (préoccupations économiques, sociales et environnementales) 2026-02-19
• Hydro-Québec form 963-3367 — Development project of 5 MW or more (incl. Appendix 2 Data centres, Appendix 3 Energy loop, Appendix 4 Alternative energy sources), version (2026-06) 2026-06

Known gaps. 1. Time to energization is not published. No source states how long a 75+ MW data centre takes from application to energized service in Quebec. The only statutory clock (15 business days) applies solely to requests up to 50 MW at sites already served by the distributor, so it does not cover this class of project at all. MEIE's 2023 statement that decisions issue "quarterly" has not been renewed and the current process page carries no service standard. Could not find Vantage QC4's energization date. Treat any timeline number as unsourced. 2.

Record updated 2026-08-01. Sources reviewed 2026-08-02. Corrections: sam@mccordinvestments.com