Kyoto Support Should Speed Up Hydro Project Approvals

MONTREAL -- - Hydroelectric projects take too long to be approved, especially in light of Canada's support of the Kyoto environmental accord, Hydro-Quebec's president said recently.

While it may take 10 to 12 years for a hydro project to be put into service, the process takes only five years for other energy plants, he said in a speech to the Association de l'industrie electrique du Quebec. The group represents the province's electrical industry.

"Is it normal that it's simpler to get approval for a thermal energy project in Alberta than a hydroelectric plant here (in Quebec)?" asked Andre Caille.

Ideally, it should take only six or seven years for hydro projects to be approved provincially, he said.

Delays are caused by legal interpretations and environmental laws, which evaluate projects at each stage of the process rather than by the final results, he later told reporters.

Caille called the delays unjustified when Canada signed the protocol to reduce greenhouse gases. Hydroelectricity is a so-called green energy, produced in a way that is environmentally friendly.

The delays were raised by Natural Resources Minister Sam Hamad during two meetings Caille said he has had since the Liberals recently took power.

Caille said more than 3,000 megawatts of electricity can be developed by 2012 "if the conditions are favourable."

Hydro-Quebec is also looking for a partner to generate 1,000 megawatts of electricity from harnessing the wind in the Gaspe region.

Meanwhile, Caille defended an application for rate increases that was submitted for approval long before the government-owned utility earned more than $1 billion in the first quarter of 2003.

He said Quebecers benefit from among the lowest rates in North America, economic stimulus generated by hydro projects and dividends returned to the provincial government to help pay for other services.

The utility paid a record $763 million in dividends last year to its sole owner, the Quebec government.