Hydro-Québec — Starting, Changing or Cancelling Your Service
Request for service: The first step to start your electricity service in Québec is to submit an application to Hydro-Québec for your new home or commercial address.
For domestic use, residential consumers should notify the company by phone or in writing with the following info:
- The new address
- The name and telephone number of the new customer
- The social insurance number (SIN number)
- The planned start date
Other customers or anyone with services larger than 200A, should generally contact Hydro-Québec in writing, as well as provide it with:
- The loads connected
- The purpose of the project
- The energy required
- The Quebec enterprise number (NEQ), when applicable
- Email address and additional phone number
Moving: When you move out of a location, you must still pay for electricity until you cancel your contract. It’s necessary to inform Hydro-Québec about your planned moving date as early as possible. Residential customers should contact the company at least seven days before the moving data, whereas business, commercial, industrial or any other nonresidential customers have to provide 30 days’ written notice.
The final Hydro-Québec bill is based on the last meter reading or on calculated energy consumption. Some customers can be charged based on their power demand. Usually, the final bill is sent no later than 30 or 60 days after the contract cancellation.
Closing your account: The minimum term of the contract is at least one week. Residential electricity consumers must notify the company about the termination of the contract at least seven days before. For other customers, the termination must be requested in writing at least 30 days before. The minimum term is at least one year.
Only property owners can request a service disconnection. If the service is reconnected, the customer will have to pay a charge for cancelling/re-establishing services. It is also significant to note that the property owner isn’t able to disconnect services at a facility where the tenant is the current contract holder.
General Hydro-Québec meter reading info
According to Hydro-Québec, the information displayed on your meter screen varies depending on the product manufacturer, as well as if it’s a communicating or noncommunicating meter. Usually, meters in Québec are made by General Electric, Itron, Elster or Landis+Gyr.
To find out if your meter is communicating or noncommunicating, or if it’s an old-generation meter, consumers need to check the identification number in their meters.
- When the sequence starts with G4, G7, G8 or G9, the meter is communicating
- If the identification number starts with an X, the meter is noncommunicating
- In case the sequence starts with any other number, the meter is an old-generation one (in that case, Hydro‑Québec will contact you when it’s time to install a new meter)
When it comes to meter reading, it will happen remotely in most cases. Still, there are some things that Hydro‑Québec customers need to know.
- Providing the company with access to the meter is a requirement to start the electricity service
- Consumers must notify Hydro-Québec about any work or activity that could block the access to the meter
- The meter must be accessible between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. every day, except on Sundays and holidays
- The meter will be read around every 120 days if your account is billed only for the energy consumption
- The meter will be read around every 30 days if your account is billed for power demand and energy consumption
- If Hydro-Québec can’t read your meter, your bill for that period will be based on your estimated consumption (and adjusted after the next meter reading, if necessary)
Énergir — Starting, Changing or Cancelling Your Service
Whether to start a new service, change your service address or close your Énergir account, customers need to contact Énergir’s customer service. It’s possible to do this by phone or using the online access.
On its website, Énergir provides people with two options: “Existing customers (Moving out)” and “New customers (Moving in).” As soon as you know your new address and the moving date, you should contact the natural gas distributor.
It’s important to note that Énergir doesn’t charge customers any fees for opening or closing accounts, whether they are moving or signing up.
