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Energy in QuébecEnergy in Québec Québec's energy balance sheet has undergone considerable upheavals in the past 20 years. In the wake of the oil crisis in the 1970's, energy consumption and energy supplies have been quickly transformed. In 1992, the Québec government announced the implementation of a series of measures with a view to reducing by 15 % overall energy consumption by the year 2001.
ElectricityElectricity is now the leading form of energy in Québec, followed by oil and natural gas. Almost all of the electricity consumed is generated by Hydro-Québec, a government corporation that manages 83 power generating plants located throughout Québec. As of January 1, 1995, Québec had an installed capacity of 38 909 MW. Moreover, it has basic untapped potential estimated at 47 000 MW. In 1992, Québec was the world's fourth largest producer of electricity, after the United States, Brazil and Russia. 
Québec's electricity generation facilities are made up by and large of hydroelectric power plants, which account for 94 % of available power. The remaining power is generated by thermal plants, which burn petroleum products, and Gentilly 2, a nuclear power plant. Hydro-Québec has established a highly complex, 30 000-km power transmission and distribution system, one of the largest in North America. Québec's electricity prices are among the most advantageous. In the industrial sector, the average selling price in 1991 was at least 10 % below that of the other countries studied, with the exception of Norway. PetroleumQuébec imports crude oil. Exploration now under way in Québec, which is nonetheless limited, centres on the search for oil and natural gas and the development of geological structures for the purpose of storing natural gas. Most of the exploration costs are covered by the Société québécoise d'initiatives pétroléres (SOQUIP). More than three-fifths of the crude oil that Québec purchases comes from the North Sea (United Kingdom and Norway). The rest is purchased in Venezuela, Algeria, Mexico and the Middle East. Canadian oil figures only marginally in Québec's crude oil supplies, although it was the leading source in the early 1980s. Two-thirds of oil deliveries reach Québec by oil pipeline, and the remainder by sea. The main transmission facility is the Portland-Montéal oil pipeline, which brings crude oil delivered to the port of Portland, Maine, to refineries in Montréal. Natural gasAlmost all of the natural gas consumed in Québec is imported from Alberta. Over the past 30 years, two natural gas deposits have been developed in Québec, one at Pointe-du-Lac near Trois-Rivères, and the other at Saint-Flavien south of Québec City. Since 1980, Québec has considerably broadened its natural gas distribution system. The industrial sector is the largest gas consumer, accounting for 60 % of overall consumption. Non-conventional energyThe biomass, solar energy, wind power, minihydraulics and nuclear fusion are all new forms of energy as well as old forms that are once again in fashion. In Québec, biomass is the only form of non-conventional energy that is widely used. It encompasses all of the organic matter produced by plant growth or animal or human activity. Wood and forest residues make up forest biomass waste resulting from human activity in the cities makes up urban biomass. Energy efficiencyThe Québec government has committed itself to energy efficiency through its new policy entitled L'énergie au service du Québec (Energy for Québec's needs) the service of Québec, which defines energy efficiency as a full-fledged sector, just like other sources of energy on the market. The ministère des Ressources naturelles, de la Faune et des Parcs engages in a wide array of initiatives, at several levels :
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