The heat wave that has people both here in Quebec and across much of the U.S. eastern seaboard sweating day and night is showering Hydro Quebec with cash.
Hydro is selling its surplus power to utilities south of the border that are struggling to keep air conditioners going in sweltering cities including Boston and New York.
La Presse says the price today will be the highest of the summer, at 12.5 cents U.S. per kilowatt-hour. That's because demand is even higher now than it was during the first heatwave at the end of June and beginning of July, when the price for Quebec's power averaged 6.6 cents U.S. per kilowatt-hour. Demand is peaking now because the back-to-work and back-to-school periods are underway.
Hydro says it would be able to export even more power but for a lack of interconnection capacity with U.S. utilities.