Hydro-Qubec seeks 2.2% rate hike

Hydro-Qubec has asked for another rate increase, and a consumer rights group says the request is unfair.

Hydro has asked the province's energy board to approve a 2.2 per cent increase effective April 1, 2009.

That would represent an increase of about $1 a month for an average apartment heated electrically, or $5 a month for heating a big home.

An energy analyst for the consumer group Option Consommateurs, Olivier Bourgeois, said the request for a rate increase is questionable considering the utility's ever-increasing profits.

But the president of Hydro-Qubec Distribution, Andr Boulanger, said the increase is necessary to pay for the cost of removing old equipment from the system and to keep up with the rising cost of fuel.

Boulanger said Quebecers are still getting a good deal.

"Every rate increase is not welcome for any consumers, but if you compare with other provinces or states near the Quebec border, I think that the Quebec situation is quite good," Boulanger said.