{
    "meta": {
        "title": "Hydro-Quebec Electricity Rates for Mining",
        "description": "Hydro-Quebec electricity rates for Bitcoin mining (effective April 1, 2026): Rate D, DT, G, M, L and Rate CB - the mandatory rate for cryptographic use applied to blockchains - with system charge, tiered energy price (cents/kWh) and demand charge. Key fact: any load with 50 kW or more dedicated to blockchain use is placed on Rate CB and barred from Rate L; a new site with no grandfathered authorized capacity pays 18.767 c/kWh, about 4.9x Rate L's 3.821 c/kWh.",
        "generated": "2026-07-13T22:47:45+00:00",
        "version": "1.1",
        "license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
        "license_name": "CC BY 4.0",
        "source": "https://d-central.tech/hydro-quebec-electricity-rates/",
        "record_count": 7,
        "disclaimer": "Figures are from the official Hydro-Quebec Electricity Rates schedule effective April 1, 2026 (hydroquebec.com/data/documents-donnees/pdf/electricity-rates.pdf), decoded from the source document and cross-verified with two independent PDF text decoders against the English and French editions. Rates are adjusted annually (April 1) and carry additional conditions; verify the current schedule at hydroquebec.com. Rate CB (Chapter 7) is MANDATORY for any contract with at least 50 kW of installed capacity dedicated to cryptographic use applied to blockchains - such a customer may not elect Rate L or Rate M. Note: Hydro-Quebec's own /blockchain/ explainer page still quotes the pre-April-2026 unauthorized-consumption price of 18.078 c/kWh; the binding rate schedule effective April 1, 2026 states 18.767 c/kWh, and that is the figure published here. Hydro-Quebec also caps and allocates the power available to cryptocurrency mining, and the allocation process for the dedicated block has been provisionally suspended since a Regie de l'energie decision of January 10, 2023 (see the Canadian mining-regulation dataset). Separately, Hydro-Quebec has PROPOSED (filed February 19, 2026, pending Regie de l'energie approval, not in force) to adjust the blockchain rate to an average of ~19.5 c/kWh and create a new large data-centre rate averaging ~13 c/kWh."
    },
    "rows": [
        {
            "rate": "Rate D",
            "article": "Art. 2.5",
            "applies_to": "Residential (homes)",
            "system_charge": "46.154 c/day",
            "energy_price": "7.065 c/kWh (first 40 kWh/day), then 11.142 c/kWh",
            "demand_charge": "None",
            "mining_use": "The rate a home Bitcoin miner pays. The 40 kWh/day first-tier threshold is roughly one S19-class miner, so heavy mining quickly hits the higher 11.142 c second tier. A home miner stays on Rate D as long as capacity dedicated to mining stays under 50 kW - past that, Rate CB is mandatory."
        },
        {
            "rate": "Rate DT",
            "article": "Art. 2.34",
            "applies_to": "Residential dual-energy (electricity + backup heat)",
            "system_charge": "46.154 c/day x multiplier",
            "energy_price": "5.131 c/kWh when the outdoor temperature is at or above -12 C (-15 C in some areas), 30.001 c/kWh when colder",
            "demand_charge": "$7.266/kW of billing demand in excess of the base billing demand",
            "mining_use": "A dual-energy heating rate. The very high cold-weather price (30.001 c) makes 24/7 winter mining expensive; rarely the right rate for miners. Note the demand charge above base billing demand - a continuous ASIC load raises that baseline."
        },
        {
            "rate": "Rate G",
            "article": "Art. 3.2",
            "applies_to": "Small-power business (under ~65 kW)",
            "system_charge": "$15.426/month",
            "energy_price": "12.388 c/kWh (first 15,090 kWh/month), then 9.534 c/kWh",
            "demand_charge": "$22.071/kW of billing demand over 50 kW",
            "mining_use": "The rate a small mining shop or a few rigs on a commercial meter pays. The demand charge kicks in past 50 kW - and so does Rate CB, if 50 kW or more of that capacity is dedicated to mining."
        },
        {
            "rate": "Rate M",
            "article": "Art. 4.2",
            "applies_to": "Medium-power (50 kW to under 5 MW) - NON-blockchain load only",
            "system_charge": "None (minimum monthly bill $15.426 single-phase / $46.278 three-phase)",
            "energy_price": "6.292 c/kWh (first 210,000 kWh), then 4.666 c/kWh",
            "demand_charge": "$18.242/kW of billing demand",
            "mining_use": "NOT available to a dedicated mining load. Art. 7.1 puts any contract with 50 kW or more dedicated to cryptographic use on Rate CB instead. Rate M is what a comparable non-blockchain industrial load of the same size pays - useful only as the benchmark for what mining is NOT charged."
        },
        {
            "rate": "Rate L",
            "article": "Art. 5.2",
            "applies_to": "Large-power industrial (5 MW or more) - NON-blockchain load only",
            "system_charge": "None",
            "energy_price": "3.821 c/kWh",
            "demand_charge": "$15.027/kW of billing demand",
            "mining_use": "The famous 3.821 c/kWh 'cheapest power in North America' figure - and a Bitcoin miner CANNOT get it. Art. 7.1 bars any load with 50 kW or more dedicated to cryptographic use from Rate L. This is what a smelter, a mill or a non-blockchain data centre pays. Quoted as a mining rate, it is off by roughly 4.9x."
        },
        {
            "rate": "Rate CB (medium power)",
            "article": "Art. 7.3",
            "applies_to": "Blockchain/crypto load with 50 kW or more of dedicated capacity; minimum billing demand under 5,000 kW",
            "system_charge": "None (minimum monthly bill $15.426 single-phase / $46.278 three-phase)",
            "energy_price": "6.292 c/kWh for the first 210,000 kWh of AUTHORIZED consumption, then 4.666 c/kWh for remaining authorized consumption - but 18.767 c/kWh for any consumption above or other than the authorized consumption",
            "demand_charge": "$18.242/kW of billing demand",
            "mining_use": "MANDATORY, not optional: Art. 7.1 applies Rate CB to any annual contract with at least 50 kW of installed capacity dedicated to cryptographic use applied to blockchains, and bars that customer from the Industrial Revitalization Rate, Load Retention Rate, D-R Commitment Option, Additional Electricity Option and Economic Development Rate. The cheap 6.292/4.666 c tiers only apply to AUTHORIZED consumption, and Art. 7.2 limits authorized demand to capacity already held or confirmed before June 7, 2018, or won through an allocation award. A NEW miner has no authorized consumption, so in practice ALL of its energy bills at 18.767 c/kWh - about 4.9x Rate L's 3.821 c. Service is non-firm (Art. 7.9): Hydro-Quebec may curtail demand to 5% of peak for up to 300 hours per rate year on 2 hours' notice, and any power drawn above that 5% limit during a curtailment is billed at $1.038/kWh."
        },
        {
            "rate": "Rate CB (large power)",
            "article": "Art. 7.4",
            "applies_to": "Blockchain/crypto load with 50 kW or more of dedicated capacity; minimum billing demand 5,000 kW or more",
            "system_charge": "None",
            "energy_price": "4.324 c/kWh for AUTHORIZED consumption - but 18.767 c/kWh for any consumption above or other than the authorized consumption",
            "demand_charge": "$16.571/kW of billing demand",
            "mining_use": "The industrial-scale blockchain rate, and the one an at-scale Quebec Hashcenter actually gets - not Rate L. Authorized consumption bills at 4.324 c/kWh, but authorized capacity is effectively frozen (Art. 7.2: allocated before June 7, 2018, or won through an allocation award), and Hydro-Quebec's allocation process for the dedicated block has been suspended since January 10, 2023. Unauthorized consumption - which is all of it, for a new site - bills at 18.767 c/kWh. Non-firm service, curtailable to 5% of peak for up to 300 h/year (Art. 7.9), with power above the 5% limit during a curtailment billed at $1.038/kWh."
        }
    ]
}