The Régie de l'énergie (the Régie) is an economic regulatory administrative tribunal that oversees and supervises the energy sector in Québec. It namely sets the rates and conditions of services for Québec electricity and natural gas consumers. It handles complaints from natural gas and electricity consumers. It monitors the prices of petroleum products. It adopts and monitors the application of electricity transmission system reliability standards. It carries out its functions in such a way as to ensure that it reconciles the public interest, consumer protection and the fair treatment of regulated entities, by promoting the satisfaction of Québec's energy needs in keeping with the principles of sustainable development.
Contribute to the energy transition and be recognized for its expertise, efficiency and the quality of its decisions.
The Régie de l'énergie maintains the following three values that guide each of its actions:
Respect internally and for participants in its regulatory functions in all occasions;
Competence of its staff and commissioners;
Impartiality that it associates with neutrality, fairness, objectivity and which is the basis of any notion of justice.
The Régie is the economic regulatory tribunal for the energy sector in Québec. Under its constituting Act, since December 10, 2016, the Régie is composed of 12 commissioners, including the chair and vice-chair, appointed by the government on the basis of their expertise. As of March 31, 2021, it relies on a team of 10 commissioners with five-year terms. The president coordinates and distributes the work amongst the commissioners, is responsible for the administration of the board and directs its staff. For these purposes, it is advised by an executive committee composed of the vice-president and senior managers of the Régie.
The Régie, an independent and impartial administrative tribunal, examines applications submitted to it through hearings, written consultations or other mechanisms provided for in the Act and the Regulation respecting the procedure of the Régie de l'énergie. In the performance of its duties, it must respect the rules of procedural fairness.
As a specialized tribunal, the Régie must have specialized knowledge and expertise in order to accurately analyze the applications and evidence submitted before it. Thus, its commissioners and employees are specialists in the energy sector and economic regulation who are chosen and appointed on the basis of the quality and relevance of their experience and training.
The Régie has a light structure. Its employees work out of the head office in Montreal, where most of the activities and hearings take place. It also has an office in Quebec City where it can hold mediation sessions and hearings for clients in the Capitale-Nationale and surrounding regions.
In order to carry out its functions, the Régie relies on a multidisciplinary team of between 90 and 100 people. They are mainly economists, accountants, engineers, lawyers and senior managers who, like the commissioners, take cognizance of all the evidence filed by participants in the cases studied, advise the commissioners and make recommendations for decisions.
The Secretariat is the gateway for all contacts with the Régie. Thus, the Secretary of the Régie is the spokesperson and sole interlocutor with participants in the regulatory functions of the Régie and complainants. It is responsible for internal and external communications as well as media relations. The Secretariat comprises the Deputy Secretariat Directorate.
This department includes the Clerks office, the Reception and Telephone Information Service and the Virtual Documentation Centre.
Members of Legal Services act as legal counsel on the interpretation of statutes and regulations. They also respond to the commissioners' requests by advising them in the preparation of decisions or opinions to the government. These legal advisors also act as prosecutors, represent the Régie and question participants during hearings. They also carry out work in the context of the preparation of laws and regulations and the production of various legal texts required in the administration of the Régie.
The Planning and Regulation Directorate of the Régie plans and provides economic, financial, accounting and technical expertise to the commissioners in the processing of regulatory applications and in notifications to the Minister.
This directorate consists of three Deputy directorates
This deputy direction is responsible, among other things, for analyzing and recommending HQD's regulatory files and applications submitted by HQT, monitoring HQD's calls for tenders for the supply of electricity, and reviewing requests for the appointment of the Reliability Coordinator and the adoption and implementation of transmission system reliability standards.
This deputy directorate is responsible of analyzing and recommendations on applications submitted by both natural gas distributors, Énergir, and Gazifère and by Intragaz.
This deputy directorate plans and implements, among other things, the monitoring and monitoring activities required by the Régie, carries out the activities of the annual plan to monitor compliance with reliability standards for the electricity transmission system, with the support of the Northeast Power Coordinating Council Inc. (NPCC), monitors and publishes daily data on petroleum product prices and provides technical support to the commissioners in consumer complaint files and during the examination of applications filed with the Régie under the Petroleum Resources Act.
This directorate comprises three departments and provides expertise in the management of human, financial, technical and physical resources. It advises management and offers support services in compliance with the regulations in force. It defines, implements and administers policies and directives relating to the administration of the Régie.
Jocelin Dumas is a graduate of the Université de Montréal in economics. He completed the course work for a master’s degree in management with a major in finance at HEC Montréal.
He began his professional career as an economic and financial journalist. He received a first prize for business reporting from the Toronto Press Club and a first prize from the Fondation québécoise d’éducation économique. He has been Deputy Minister of Economy, Science and Innovation from 2014 to 2018 and was Deputy Minister of Labour from 2009 to 2012. He previously served as Associate Secretary General responsible for the ministerial coordination committee secretariat in the Ministère du Conseil exécutif. He was also responsible in the same department for the strategic priorities and projects secretariat. He subsequently served in the public sector as Chief of Staff of the Minister of Finance and Chair of the Conseil du trésor and as Assistant Chief of Staff of Québec Premier Daniel Johnson. Mr. Dumas has worked in the private sector in the communications sector at National Bank and for CCN-Matthews. He has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Société des relationnistes du Québec and a member of the Canadian Investor Relations Institute.
Louise Rozon is an attorney and also holds a bachelor’s degree in social service from Université de Montréal. She began her career in 1985 as head of the consumer assistance service of the Association coopérative d'économie familiale du Centre de Montréal. In 1989, she became director of Option consommateurs and continued to serve in that capacity until her appointment as a commissioner in June 2005. She has been a member of a number of government task forces, including the Advisory Committee on Smart Regulation, set up by the Privy Council Office, and the Commission de l'éthique de la science et de la technologie, which reports to the Conseil de la science et de la technologie. She has also been a lecturer at Université du Québec à Montréal, where she taught a course on consumers and the law beginning in 200
Pierre Dupont is a graduate of Laval University. He holds a bachelor's degree in economics-mathematics and a master's degree in economics with a specialization in the fields of econometrics and energy. He began his career in 1983 at Laval University as coordinator for the Groupe de recherche en économie de l'énergie (GREEN) and, starting in 1985, as a lecturer in economics in the Faculty of Administration for about ten years. In addition to his teaching activities, he began his career in 1985 with the Government of Quebec, holding senior management positions at the Ministère de l'Énergie et des Ressources naturelles, the Ministère des Finances, the Ministère de l'Économie et de l'Innovation and the Ministère du Conseil exécutif. He has also worked for various public organizations, including the Régie de l'énergie as a commissioner from 1998 to 2000, the Agence des partenariats public-privés and the Centre des services partagés du Québec. Finally, he worked in the private sector as Vice-President for the consulting firm KPMG Canada during the period 2002-2005.
Lise Duquette has been a lawyer since 1998. She also holds a MBA from Université de Sherbrooke. She began her career with Trans Québec & Maritimes Pipeline as Senior Advisor, Regulatory and Legal Affairs. From 2003 to 2005, she was Senior Advisor, managing customer service at Gaz Métro. From May 2005 until her appointment, she was Executive Assistant to the President of the Régie de l'énergie.
Sylvie Durand is an economist by training and holds a master's degree in economics from the Université du Québec à Montréal. She began her career as an economist in 1985 with Gaz Métropolitain where she worked on natural gas supply, tolls and tariffs and the environment. From 2002 until her appointment as commissioner, she worked as a specialist in economic regulation with the Régie de l'énergie.
François Émond holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Université Laval and a master’s degree in management and sustainable development from HEC-Montréal. He has worked in various federal and provincial ministerial offices and managed those of Relations internationales, Environnement et du Développement durable, Énergie et des Ressources naturelles and Conseil du trésor.
Esther Falardeau is an economist by training and holds a master’s degree in economics from the Université de Montréal. She began her career as an economist in 1984 in the federal government, where she worked until 1992. She taught economics and did consulting work until 2008. Since that time, she has worked as a specialist in energy regulation and rate-setting successively for the Régie de l’énergie, gas distributor Gaz Métro and finally as a consultant in private practice.
Françoise Gagnon holds a Bachelor of Science and Applied Science degree (geology major) from Université Laval in Québec City and a Certificate in Business Administration from Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue. She has 17 years of experience in mining and mining exploration. Ms. Gagnon has been a member of the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec since 1987.
Holder of a Bachelor of Laws degree from the Université de Montréal and a Master's degree in Electrical Engineering from McGill University, Mr. Simard acted as legal counsel for the City of Montréal before joining the Régie in 2023. Mr. Simard worked as legal counsel and engineer at Hydro-Québec from 1991 to 2013. He was appointed commissioner at the Régie on August 7, 2023.
Simon Turmel was admitted to the Québec Bar in 1990 and also holds a BA in Political Science from Université Laval. Mr. Turmel was a member of the law firm Kronström Desjardins prior to be becoming a member of Hydro-Québec's, and the Régie de l'énergie's legal services. He practiced in the field of administrative law, including energy, aboriginal and environmental law. He also led various ministerial offices including those of Justice, Immigation and Communautés culturelles, Mines et de la Faune and Affaires autochtones.
© Gouvernement du Québec, 2024
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