Exports drive Hydro-Québec's net income in the first three quarters

MONTRÉAL, Nov. 11, 2022 /CNW Telbec/ - Hydro-Québec posted net income of $3,604 million for the first three quarters of 2022, up $1,163 million compared to the same period in 2021. This significant growth is mainly due to higher sales revenue both in and outside of Québec, which was partially offset by an increase in electricity purchases.

"The soaring energy market prices we have seen in the past several months continued to work in our favor in the third quarter, to the point where cumulative net income for the first nine months of 2022 surpassed $3.5 billion, an amount that exceeds what we recorded for the entirety of last year," said Jean-Hugues Lafleur, Hydro-Québec's Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. "Sustained high-level electricity exports to neighboring markets, coupled with the growing needs of Québec customers, have propelled our total sales volume across all markets to a historic high for the first three quarters."

Highlights of the first nine months

• Markets outside Québec:
• Sharp price increase on export markets
• Average price obtained: 7.6¢/kWh, a more than 70% increase compared to the 4.4¢/kWh obtained for the same period last year
• High export volume: 28.0 TWh
• Québec market:
• Record sales volume: 134.4 TWh
• Cold winter temperatures
• January 2022: temperatures 7°C below those recorded in January 2021
• Growth in electricity demand across all customer segments
• Romaine complex completion:
• Commissioning of the second and final generating unit of Romaine?4 in September 2022
• Investments:
• Over $3 billion invested in property, plant and equipment and intangible assets across Québec
• Financing:
• Completion of financing activities for proceeds of $1.1 billion in the third quarter, in a context marked by rising interest rates on the financial markets
• Issuance of medium-term notes maturing in 2028, at a cost of 3.49%: $0.6 billion
• Issuance of bonds maturing in 2063, at a cost of 4.09%: $0.5 billion
• Total amount raised since the beginning of the year: $4.0 billion

On markets outside Québec, revenue from electricity sales reached $2,128 million, up $891 million from 2021. The increase is mainly due to the favorable market conditions that prevailed during the period. Energy markets saw a sharp rise in prices, although this factor was partially offset by the impact of the company's risk management strategy. At 28.0 TWh, export volume remained comparable to the first three quarters of 2021.

In Québec, electricity sales were up by 6.1 TWh compared to the first three quarters of 2021, bringing in $848 million more than the $8,985 million posted a year ago, mainly on account of two factors. First, temperatures accounted for an increase of 3.8 TWh or $325 million; the cold was particularly marked in January 2022, the harshest since 2004, with an average temperature of ?14°C compared to ?7°C in 2021. Second, baseload demand rose by 2.3 TWh or $189 million as a result of an increase in energy consumption in most segments, especially among residential customers and in the commercial, institutional and small industrial segment.

Electricity purchases, in turn, were up by $496 million compared to the same period last year. The difference is due to four main factors: an increase in short-term supplies purchased on the markets to meet Québec's ad hoc requirements during cold spells; higher transmission costs related to exports; the coming into effect of new power purchase agreements; and a larger volume of wind power supplies due to higher output from contracted facilities.

Lastly, Hydro-Québec invested $3,132 million in property, plant and equipment and intangible assets during the first nine months of 2022, compared to $2,998 million the previous year. September saw the commissioning of the final generating unit of the Romaine-4 hydroelectric facility, marking the end of a lengthy and momentous undertaking. With the completion of Romaine-4, the Romaine complex is now fully operational. Not only will the complex help meet Québec's energy needs for decades to come, it will also supply clean, renewable and reliable energy to markets outside Québec, thereby helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in northeastern North America.

For more information on Hydro-Québec's results for the first three quarters of 2022, visit https://www.hydroquebec.com/about/financial-results/quarterly-bulletin.html.

SOURCE Hydro-Québec