I can start by going into more detail about the action plan to try to give a clearer picture of the overall situation. I could then come back to the energy blocks and the allocation process, which is governed by a Quebec government mechanism.
As for the action plan, I mentioned some $200 billion in investments by 2035. It includes a series of different initiatives that were simultaneously launched a few years ago.
On the one hand, we need to increase electricity production. That is essential. At the same time, we also need to diversify it.
A tremendous amount of work has been done on wind energy. Our goal is to deploy more than 10,000 megawatts of new wind resources during this period, so it’s very ambitious. We are currently deploying approximately 5,000 megawatts of the 10,000 megawatts to be deployed by 2035. So there is concrete progress on this front. Just recently, we announced the first construction projects for the Seigneurie de Beaupré wind farms. We’re talking about 1,200 megawatts of capacity, with 400 megawatts in the first phase set to come online in 2028. So the tangible benefits of this new wind power generation are on the way.
Obviously, this is perfectly compatible with our hydroelectric reservoirs, because reservoirs act as batteries. We generate more wind energy, use it for local power, and store water in the reservoirs. This ties back to the water issue you mentioned earlier. It helps us in that regard.
At the same time, we’re also doing a lot of work to refurbish our hydroelectric plants to give us even more capacity in that area. In existing plants where we’re replacing turbine-generator units that are worn out and have reached the end of their approximately 50-year lifespan, we’re installing more efficient and better-designed units thanks to technology. This will result in efficiency gains of over 10%. So, we’re producing more energy, or we’re producing the same amount of energy with less water, depending on how you look at it. Again, these gains will allow us to meet future demand. This is being phased in annually with our suppliers. We are truly on a very steady and predictable trajectory, because this is an area in which we have a great deal of experience.
Incidentally, I won’t go into detail on every aspect of the action plan, because we could spend a lot of time on it, but I think it’s important to mention our energy efficiency efforts. What can we do to reduce the load on our end? Obviously, these are immediate gains, and they are the most affordable gains for customers. On this front, we have a target of 22 terawatt-hours of energy efficiency gains across a wide range of areas. For example, you’ve surely heard about all the home automation systems we’re deploying for customers. Today, customers can have us install a smart thermostat and several devices in their homes that will allow them to adjust their energy consumption when it will have very little impact on their quality of life. This represents savings of 22 terawatt-hours. In the United States, that would be the equivalent of 2.2 million homes—or the equivalent of the two contracts.