Hydro-Québec profit falls $230M amid record-low runoff

MONTREAL – Hydro-Québec reported net income of $2.6 billion for the first nine months of 2026, down $230 million from a year earlier, as record-low water levels cut the amount of power the Crown utility could sell outside the province.

The utility said Friday that the drop, which works out to about eight per cent from roughly $2.83 billion a year ago, reflects the lowest runoff conditions it has faced since 2023 and last winter’s periods of intense cold. It invested $5.5 billion over the same period, mostly to maintain existing assets and improve service quality under its Action Plan 2035.

Chief financial officer Maxime Aucoin said the company has now lived through its four driest consecutive years since hydrological records began in the 1940s. “We continue to use every tool at our disposal to manage our resources with agility and prudence, in order to ensure Québec’s energy security,” Aucoin said in the release. He said that means limiting short-term sales outside Québec and importing power when it is cheapest.

Sales inside Québec hit a record 135.5 terawatt-hours as the cold winter pushed up consumption. Demand topped 38,000 megawatts for seven straight days in January, a historic high, with temperatures an average of 9 C colder than normal.

Outside the province, Hydro-Québec sold power at an average of 15 cents a kilowatt-hour, while its short-term purchases averaged eight cents. The company said it bought more power to cover the cold snaps and rebuild its reserves. Short-term sales fell because of the low runoff, even as the Appalaches-Maine and Hertel-New York interconnections entered commercial service.

The results come as the utility plans for a much larger system. Hydro-Québec said its Electricity Supply Plan 2027-2041 expects demand to rise by about 60 terawatt-hours by 2041. It warned earlier this month of power deficits as early as 2029 and has asked to double the rates it charges data centres.

The earnings also land days before its skilled workers’ union is set to begin a ban on overtime. As Canada News Media reported, the ban is planned from Nov. 20 to 30 in a dispute over subcontracting.

The full quarterly bulletin is available on Hydro-Québec’s website.

If you find reporting like this useful, consider supporting Canada News Media, an independently owned Canadian newsroom.

Source: Hydro-Québec news release, Nov. 13, 2026.