AIEQ submits a brief as part of the consultation on the framework and development of clean energy in Quebec

July 31, 2023 - Consultation on the framework and development of clean energy in Quebec: Quebec must fully commit to the energy transition and make it a social project, recommends the AIEQ

As part of the consultation on the framework and development of clean energies in Quebec, which closes on August 1, the Association de l'industrie électrique du Québec (AIEQ) is recommending that the Quebec government accelerate the vast task of decarbonizing Quebec this fall.

Quebec's electrical industry will be at the heart of this vast collective effort. It intends to be one of the leading wagons, if not one of the locomotives, in this great leap forward.

To achieve this, AIEQ members believe that three major challenges need to be met:

1. Renew the partnership with the entire population of Quebec, based on reliable information on the new energy realities and the virtues of judicious consumption, by adopting socially and environmentally responsible behaviors, by supporting measures for people who could be left behind in the transition (especially employees of companies and sectors that must undergo major technological change) and, finally, by ensuring that the benefits of our energy wealth are shared, so that everyone feels they are benefiting from progress.
2. To consume our electrical energy much more efficiently than we do today, we need to start modernizing our existing electrical infrastructures now, and ensure the resilience and robustness of our networks in the face of climate change. And, at the same time, build the new infrastructures without which our collective decarbonization objectives cannot be achieved.
3. Rediscover a capacity and pace of innovation far superior to what we've seen in recent decades, in all areas: in the design of more efficient generation, transmission and distribution equipment; in more efficient industrial and domestic electrical appliances; in project management methods used by our governments, state-owned companies and businesses alike.

Mobilizing industry: strengthening the supply chain
To carry out all these major projects, Quebec must strengthen its supply chain for energy-related products, particularly strategic ones, in order to maximize sustainable wealth and energy security.

Over the past two years, the electrical industry has seen the light.

In May 2022, Quebec's Ministère de l'Économie, de l'Innovation et de l'Énergie granted financial assistance to the AIEQ to set up the PASQÉ initiative: Plateforme d'approvisionnement stratégique québécois de l'électricité.

This important initiative aims to increase the competitiveness of Quebec suppliers to the electrical industry, thereby strengthening the supply chain and promoting local economic spin-offs.

Demand for products to electrify the Quebec economy and those of our neighbors is growing fast: this is an opportunity to enhance the quality and supply of a predictable, sustainable supply chain, helping to make our Quebec suppliers global champions.

We need to act now, because the supply chains for the transition are being put in place, and the major equipment manufacturers will be in heavy demand worldwide for large-scale projects involving equipment replacements or additions.