Record drought forces Hydro-Québec to buy more electricity and sell less

Hydro-Québec makes most of its electricity with water held behind dams. The Quebec government owns it. The areas with its dams have had their four driest years in a row since records began in 1943. So Hydro-Québec bought more electricity this summer to save water. From July to September, it spent $312 million more on this than a year before. It must also sell less power outside Quebec to keep enough for Quebec. From January to September 2026, it spent $3.6 billion buying power. That is about double what it earned from sales outside Quebec. Its quarterly profit still grew.