Going totally electric- not so fast!

With the current cold spell, both Hydro Sherbrooke and Hydro Quebec have advised users to limit their consumption because their electricity grids cannot handle the increased demand. Given the political agenda to go “green” as soon as possible, I can only see problems with this approach. By only selling electric vehicles after 2030, what will the increased needs to charge electric vehicles do to the electricity grids then? I haven’t heard any proposals to increase the output capacity of Hydro Quebec in the near future. I’ve only heard proposals to export more electricity to the New England states.

Furthermore, I just received notification from the supplier of my oil furnace service plan of some changes to the laws passed by the Quebec government in November 2021. According to this law from December 31, 2023 it will be unlawful for them to replace an oil-fired furnace, hot water heater, or combustion chamber! As such when the oil furnace reaches the end of its lifetime it must be replaced by an electric furnace. How is that increased demand, during a cold snap, going to affect the demand on the power grid?

These conversions to electrical powered furnaces might also cause the homeowner additional costs by needing to increase the capacity of their home’s electrical entrance.

From my point of view, I agree that we need to go “green”, however we need to do it in a planned and controlled fashion. It seems that logical, forward thinking is not something politicians in Quebec are noted for. They always seem to put the cart before the horse and expect others to make thing work out to make them look good. No wonder the CEO of Hydro Quebec is quitting. I would do the same if I were her.