QC / CANADIAN BUSINESS ELECTRICITY

Commercial electricity in Québec

Rate G, Rate G9, Rate M and the large-power rates depend on a business’s power demand.

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In Québec, Hydro-Québec sets a business’s rate from its power demand, not only its energy use. Rate G is its most common business rate, Rate M applies once demand has reached 50 kW in the last 12 monthly periods, and the large-power rates start at 5,000 kW. Hydro-Québec switches some contracts automatically. The table below names the source for every fact and the date it was checked.

Source: Hydro-Québec · 2026-10-29

What the official sources say

Checked 2026-10-29. Each row names its source. The publication and your account’s terms control what applies to you.

Rate G: Rate G applies to contracts with no billing demand or with a minimum billing demand of less than 65 kW. Hydro-Québec says it is generally advantageous for customers whose power demand does not exceed 50 kW, which it says is about 90% of its business customers, and that with Rate G the first 50 kW of power demand are not billed.Source: Hydro-Québec: Rate G · Hydro-Québec: Electricity rates for business customers
Rate M: Rate M applies to a contract whose maximum power demand has reached 50 kW or more at least once during the last 12 monthly periods.Source: Hydro-Québec: Rate M · Hydro-Québec: Electricity rates for business customers
Rate G9: Rate G9 is for large- or medium-power customers whose power demand is limited, usually with a load factor below 30%. Hydro-Québec gives golf course irrigation pumps and ski hill snow cannons as examples of equipment that use a lot of power over short periods.Source: Hydro-Québec: Rate G · Hydro-Québec: Rate M · Hydro-Québec: Electricity rates for business customers
Automatic switching: Hydro-Québec automatically switches a contract to Rate M or Rate G9 if either would save at least 3% on the bill compared with Rate G, using the rates in effect on April 1 of each year. When minimum billing demand reaches 65 kW, the contract is no longer eligible for Rate G and moves to Rate M or, if the load factor is under 30%, to Rate G9.Source: Hydro-Québec: Rate G
Large power: If minimum billing demand is at least 5,000 kW, Hydro-Québec automatically switches the contract to Rate L when it relates to an industrial activity, or to Rate LG in other cases.Source: Hydro-Québec: Rate M · Hydro-Québec: Electricity rates for business customers
Minimum billing demand: For every rate except Rate L, minimum billing demand is set automatically from the previous winter’s maximum power demand. Rate L customers set their own, called contract power.Source: Hydro-Québec: Rate G
How demand is measured: Maximum power demand is the higher of real power in kW and a percentage of apparent power in kVA: 90% for domestic, small-power and medium-power rates, and 95% for large-power rates.Source: Hydro-Québec: Electricity rates for business customers
EV charging and cryptographic use: Rate BR applies to contracts for electricity supplied to electric vehicle charging stations rated 400 volts DC or more, and can also apply to 240-volt charging stations. Rate CB applies to a medium- or large-power contract where at least 50 kW of installed capacity is dedicated to cryptographic use such as blockchain mining.Source: Hydro-Québec: Electricity rates for business customers
Options for Rate G: Rate G customers may be interested in the Winter Credit Option or Rate Flex G, and in the Net Metering Option if they generate their own electricity.Source: Hydro-Québec: Rate G
Where the prices are: Hydro-Québec publishes the price of each rate in its Electricity Rates document, which the page describes as the 2026 edition. We do not copy those prices here.Source: Hydro-Québec: Electricity rates for business customers

What matters for a business account

Rate G is Hydro-Québec’s most common business rate, and it does not bill the first 50 kW of power demand. A business can therefore add equipment without a demand charge until its demand passes 50 kW. Once maximum power demand has reached 50 kW within a year, Rate M can apply, and a load factor under 30% can make Rate G9 the better fit.

Demand carries forward. Minimum billing demand comes from the previous winter’s maximum power demand, and Rate M looks back over twelve monthly periods, so a high winter peak can follow the account into later periods. Hydro-Québec measures maximum power demand as the higher of real power in kW and 90% of apparent power in kVA, or 95% for large-power rates.

Before buying new equipment, extending opening hours or renovating, ask Hydro-Québec how the added load could change the rate: it says a larger load could make Rate M or G9 the better fit, or lead it to switch the contract automatically. Keep the rate name from the contract with the demand history.

Your Québec bill-review checklist

Record the exact Hydro-Québec rate on the contract rather than assuming Rate G.
Keep the maximum power demand for each of the last twelve monthly periods.
Compare the demand with the 50 kW and 65 kW thresholds, and the load factor with 30%.
Check whether a minimum billing demand from the previous winter applies.
Ask whether the Winter Credit Option, Rate Flex G or a running-in option for new equipment fits the operation.

Turn the statement into a useful calculation

Record the billing period and electricity consumption in kWh. Use the billed demand from the statement where a demand charge applies; do not assume average consumption identifies the peak. Enter the fixed and variable components in their published units, and identify which adjustments are already included.

The Canadian calculator lets you declare energy blocks, billed demand, any included demand allowance, fixed charges and a tax assumption. Its subtotal is a model of those entries. It does not select your tariff, decide whether a business qualifies, reproduce every rider or certify a billing error.

When comparing two periods, record changes in operating hours, production, occupancy, heating and equipment. Those observations help explain a movement in consumption without inventing a market price or assuming an error. Keep the actual account and source documents privately with your business records.

Open the Canadian bill calculator →

Read the original sources

The publication and the account’s terms control applicability. A provider directory is not a province-wide offer or a guarantee that the same tariff applies to another meter.

Questions business owners ask

Can a Québec business choose a rate just by comparing cents per kWh?

No. Schedule eligibility and applicable demand, fixed and minimum charges must be considered with the energy price. A lower unit price alone does not establish a lower bill.

Which Hydro-Québec rate is my business on?

Rate G applies below 65 kW of minimum billing demand, and Hydro-Québec says it covers about 90% of its business customers. Rate M applies once maximum power demand has reached 50 kW or more in the last 12 monthly periods. Your contract names the rate.

Does Hydro-Québec switch my rate automatically?

Yes, in two cases. It switches a contract to Rate M or G9 if either would save at least 3% compared with Rate G, and it moves a contract off Rate G when minimum billing demand reaches 65 kW.

What is Rate G9 for?

Rate G9 is for large- or medium-power customers whose power demand is limited, usually with a load factor below 30%, such as irrigation pumps or snow cannons that use a lot of power over short periods.

Are these business tariffs or residential examples?

This guide is written for commercial bill review. Actual eligibility and charge inputs must come from the account’s business schedule. Residential examples and U.S. state averages are not substituted for it.