MONTRÉAL, Nov. 19, 2024 /CNW/ – Hydro-Québec is posting net income of $2,189 million for the first nine months of 2024, down $861 million from the $3,050 million posted for the same period last year, due to a reduction in exports.

“Our results are in line with our expectations,” said Maxime Aucoin, Executive Vice President – Strategy and Finance. “Our strategy of prudent management of energy reserves is the right way forward in the context, given the rainfall that was below normal. The cycle of low runoff, which has no impact on Québec’s energy supply, continues to translate into a decrease in electricity sales on external markets. We will continue to monitor the situation as it evolves, while making sure to manage water resources closely.” 

Financial highlights of the first nine months

• Action Plan 2035: strong growth in investments and financing activities
  • Increase of more than 30% in investments in property, plant and equipment and intangible assets compared to the previous year
    • Nearly $4.3 billion invested in nine months
    • More than half of this amount allocated to generation, transmission and distribution asset sustainment to ensure service quality
  • Financing activities raised $4.8 billion since the beginning of the year
    
    
• Low runoff in 2023 and 2024: Prudent management of energy reserves 
  • Decrease of $777 million in sales outside of Québec, due in particular to volume declining more than one third compared to the previous year
  • Positive impact of the electricity price hedging strategy, but less significant than in 2023
    • Average price obtained (including hedging effect): 9.6¢/kWh, compared to the average market price of 6.4¢/kWh
      
      
• Higher revenue from sales in Québec
  • Continued growth in electricity demand, due partly to an increase in the number of customer accounts, primarily in the residential and commercial segments
  • Lower electricity consumption due to mild temperatures in the first quarter of 2024, which was the mildest in 10 years
  • Increased revenue resulting from rate indexations that came into effect on April 1, 2023 and 2024

Action Plan 2035: highlights of the first nine months

• Improvement of service quality with a more than 50% decrease in the average number of minutes of service interruption for customers: 462 minutes in 2024 compared to 983 minutes in 2023 (as at October 31)
• Energy efficiency: expected increase of approximately 30% in energy saved in 2024 thanks to our initiatives
• New projects under the Wind Power Development Strategy:
  • Partnerships with First Nations and local communities for the development of the Chamouchouane (3,000 MW potential) and Wocawson (1,000 MW potential) zones

For more information on Hydro-Québec’s results for the first three quarters of 2024, visit https://www.hydroquebec.com/about/financial-results/quarterly-bulletin.html.

SOURCE Hydro-Québec

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