Savings on electricity bills thanks to a mild winter, Hilo and dynamic pricing

The mild weather during the 2022–2023 winter period helped Hydro-Québec’s residential customers save on their electricity bill compared with the previous winter.

For the period from November 1, 2022, to March 31, 2023, households saved an average of $25 for a three-bedroom apartment and $95 for a detached house.

These estimates are nevertheless affected by several factors, such as the number of occupants in a home, as well as their habits and the home’s physical features and geographical location.

Savings thanks to Hilo and dynamic pricing

Hilo
With approximately 20,000 customers this winter, Hilo was able to shift 62.5 MW of power demand per challenge, thereby surpassing the objective by 33%. That’s equivalent to the electricity demand of 9,000 homes. By letting the smart devices work for them, customers accumulated an average of $140 in rewards from 19 energy-reduction challenges during peak periods. What’s more, thanks to the new Extreme participation setting, the average reward per person came close to $7.40 per challenge.

The virtual generating station that Hilo represents will play an increasingly important role in the coming years and help shift 620 MW by 2028–2029, i.e., the equivalent of the electricity demand of more than 114,000 households, or the entire capacity of the La Romaine-2 generating station.

Dynamic pricing
Following a gradual rollout over three years, dynamic pricing was offered for the first time to all Hydro-Québec customers this year.

This year, some 228,000 customers opted for this voluntary rate option, designed to help customers save money.

Last winter, Hydro-Québec customers who signed up for the Winter Credit Option (risk-free option) earned an average credit of $27. The customers who took action and followed our tips saved an average of $71.40.

The average savings of residential customers who signed up for Rate Flex D will be determined in the coming weeks. Residential customers benefited from the mild weather in recent months because they paid a reduced price on each kilowatthour during the winter period and a higher price when asked to reduce their electricity consumption. For information purposes, residential customers saved an average of $55 during the 2021–2022 winter period.

Therefore, for each peak demand event, customers signed up for dynamic pricing helped curtail an average of 206 MW, which is equivalent to the demand of about 29,400 households per event.

Companies are also doing their part

More than 600 companies have opted for dynamic pricing or Hilo. Others have chosen our Demand Response Option or the Interruptible Electricity Option. In addition to making significant collective savings, these companies succeeded in reducing their electricity demand in winter by 1,825?MW per peak period, which represents the average consumption of 245,295 households.

Companies are therefore contributing to a reduction in electricity imports and the investments needed on the system, which helps us keep our electricity rates among the lowest in North America.