Northern Quebec - Quebec Hydro

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In 1878, a new way of creating light by using electricity was highlighted at The Paris World Fair. The following year, Thomas Edison perfected the light bulb. Many companies were birthed to provide this service to their communities. Eventually the smaller companies were combined and the resulting mega-companies served large areas.

The Royal Electric Company was formed to provide this new service to Montreal. In 1884, the company changed street lights from gas to electric. The company continued to grow and in 1892, replaced the horse drawn street cars with ones powered by electricity. In 1901, Royal Electric Company and Montreal Light, Heat and Power Company combined to form a monopoly. Following the Ontario lead, the Quebec provincial government formed an agency, Hydro Quebec, to distribute power. In the 1920s, Alan (Aluminum Company of Canada) created several hydro-electric power dams to meet their growing energy needs. Because the monopolies were prospering even though their public image was tarnishing, the Quebec government passed the law creating Quebec Hydro-Electric Commission; and thus, on April 14, 1944, Hydro-Quebec was born.

After World War 2, Hydro-Quebec started its quest to create power generating hydro stations in the remote northern areas of Quebec. This required new technology because of the distance and the extreme cold weather. In 1963, it bought out many most of the municipalities heat and light companies. In 1965, Hydro-Quebec diversified and began creating nuclear energy. In 1966, Hydro-Quebec signed an agreement to purchase the energy from Labrador's Churchill Falls. In 1970, Hydro-Quebec was on the cutting edge for the new technology of 735-Kv lines; this technology is still the most efficient transmission of power.

In 1971, Hydro-Quebec began to develop James Bay which was the world's largest hydro-electric complex of it's time. In 1978, the directives of the Crown Corporation changed the focus to become Hydro-Quebec International and began to market its expertise and engineering to a global economy. Its first international venture was supplying 765-Kv grid of power to New York State. Because of deregulation, in 1997, Hydro-Quebec began selling more energy to the US. Hydro-Quebec's energy is 97% from renewable sources.