Hydro-Québec becomes net importer of power in reversal from past years

Hydro-Québec is now buying more power from outside the province than it’s exporting, a significant reversal from years past caused by a drop in its northern water reservoirs at a time of surging demand.

The utility, Canada’s biggest producer of electricity, purchased about 10 terawatt-hours of power at a price of 5 cents a kilowatt-hour for the first nine months of the year, according to its latest quarterly report published Friday. It sold about 8 twh at 15 cents a kwh over the same time outside Quebec.