Hydro-Québec Solutions Efficaces
Compared with the 242 other application forms we have read
- Scored mainly on environmental outcome. Only 11 lead with that.
- Winning means you must keep the equipment in place and working for a stated period. 12 ask that.
- Only 2 written answers, against a median of 5.
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Eligibility & Details
What this program funds and who can apply
Program Description
Incentive program covering up to 90% of eligible costs for small businesses (rate G/Flex G) and up to 75% for medium and large businesses, for energy-efficiency, electrification, and demand-management projects at commercial, institutional, industrial, and agricultural facilities on the Hydro-Québec grid. Refreshed to version 6.0 on March 31, 2026 with a major thermal-envelope incentive overhaul (up to 20x some OSE 5.1 amounts), a new photovoltaic-panel measure, and continued (but capped, at 15% of eligible costs vs 75% for standard existing-building efficiency) support for electrifying fossil-fuelled process heat. The applicable OSE version depends on the project's work-start date. Prescriptive ('simplified') pathway via the OSE online tool for standard measures; customized pathway for complex or innovative projects. Projects can claim up to $5 million (incentive), plus $50,000 (efficiency only) or $60,000 (with demand-response measures) separately for an energy analysis.
Eligibility Requirements
- Commercial, institutional, industrial, or agricultural facility located in Quebec
- Hydro-Québec business customer (or customer of eligible alternative electricity source)
- Facility uses electricity for the retrofitted end-use, OR project electrifies an existing fossil-fuel process
- Project measures result in verifiable energy savings, demand reduction, or electrification of process heat
- Project is implemented in one or more buildings in Quebec that the business owns, operates, occupies, or is constructing
- Equipment meets Hydro-Québec's efficiency specifications (for prescriptive measures) or passes a custom-measure technical review
- Energy-analysis support (a separate, optional component) additionally requires the facility to consume at least 1 GWh/year (reference consumption) — this condition applies only to the Energy Analysis component, not to standard efficiency/electrification measures.
- Residential buildings with at least 20 dwelling units (existing or new) are eligible under the Small and Medium/Large components; the residential exclusion applies to individual unit owners, not 20+-unit multi-residential buildings.
Quick Assessment
Funding Details
- Amount
- Up to $5M/projectUp to $5,000,000 per project (incentive), plus up to $50,000 (efficiency only) or $60,000 (with demand-response measures) for an energy analysis, paid 40% on report approval and 60% after implementing at least one analysed measure
- Type
- Grant
- Level
- Provincial
- Co-Funding
- Up to 90% of eligible costs
- Deadline
- Ongoing (continuous intake)
Program Scorecard
Competition, effort, and approval at a glance
Accessible — straightforward requirements
Below average competition
Moderate — standard requirements
How to Win
Insider tips, common pitfalls, and what successful applicants look like
Insider TipThe OSE 6.0 refresh overhauled thermal-envelope incentives and added a new photovoltaic measure, and custom-path electrification of fossil-fuel process heat remains supported — but at a lower rate than standard efficiency work: if your Quebec operation still runs natural-gas boilers, process heaters, or oil-fired dryers, the custom path covers the least of 45 cents/kWh saved, the amount for 1-year payback, 15% of eligible costs (vs 75% for standard existing-building efficiency, or exceptionally 75% of the incremental cost over a reference scenario with Hydro-Québec approval), and $5M.
Success Profile
Evaluation Criteria
How Hydro-Québec judges your application
What the reviewer scores, what gets applications rejected, and what to write.
Distilled from 6+ source documents on hydroquebec.com, condensed into one brief. Sources as of 2026-09-11.
6 of the sources
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What Hydro-Québec favours
Generate annual electricity savings of at least 25 000 kWh◦
“Générer des Économies annuelles d'électricité d'au moins 25 000 kWh pour l'ensemble des Bâtiments visés”
The form
Component and rate class
- 1Which component applies (rate class and market)selection
Simplified Option
- 2Simplified Option - submitting a request with the OSE toolshort answer
- 3Présentation du Projet réalisé (Offre simplifiée)list
- 4Contenu d'une facture d'achat ou d'installationlist
Aggregator
- 5Avis de participation - Agrégateur: Consentement du Clientcheckbox
Customized Option
- 6Customized Option request form: projectselection + written
Short description of your project (e.g., purpose and main equipment involved)
- 7Customized Option request form: customer profile and contactselection
- 8Étape 1.2 — Transmission de la Proposition de Projet (Offre sur mesure)list
- 9Mesurage après les Travaux, présentation du Projet réalisé et vérification de sa conformitélist
- 10Coûts totaux admissibles au calcul de l'Appui financier (Offre sur mesure) — Grille détailléetable
Billing Hydro-Québec
- 11Facturation de l'Appui financier (all components)list
Energy Analysis
- 12Autoévaluation de l'admissibilité de la demandeshort answer
- 13i-Proposition: analysis already started?selection
- 14Section 1 – Identification du Participantshort answer
- 15Section 2 – Information sur le Participant et les responsables de l'Analyse énergétiqueshort answer
- 16Section 3 - Identification du ou des Bâtimentstable
- 17Section 4 – Description sommaire de l'Analyse énergétique envisagéewritten answer
Section 4 – Description sommaire de l'Analyse énergétique envisagée; Cette section doit comprendre
- 18Section 5 - Description des coûts de l'Analyse énergétiqueshort answer
- 19ii-Grille détaillée des coûtsspreadsheet
- 20Transmission du rapport et des documents afférents (1er versement)list
- 21Étape 8 — Mise en œuvre des Mesures (2e versement)short answer
Hydro-Québec states no length limits for these answers.
Judged against
- 1
Is this beyond the Simplified Option?
Show them Show that your measure is not one of the measures predefined in OSE, or that the OSE tool does not cover it, which is what opens the Customized Option.◦
In the funder’s words · 1
- Viser un usage de l'électricité ou une Mesure d'efficacité énergétique non admissible à l'Offre simplifiée, ou dont l'application n'est pas couverte par celle-ci
- 2
Does it save 25,000 kWh a year?
What to show, and the funder’s 2 criteria behind it in Premium
- 3
Is it better than a fossil alternative?
What to show, and the funder’s 1 criterion behind it in Premium
- 4
Will the analysis hit the savings target?
What to show them in Premium
6 questions the reviewer answers about you, in Premium.
Where applicants fail
“Tout document soumis à Hydro‑Québec, y compris un rapport ou une facture, doit être rédigé en français.”
“Veuillez noter que les factures en format Word ou Excel ne sont pas acceptées et doivent être converties en format PDF.”
Premium · the rest of this brief
See all 14 rules that can reject you and every criterion you are judged on. Then we draft your application for you.
12 more rules that can reject you · 3 more criteria · 16 more prompts
Do you pass?
Each one can rule you out. Tick the ones you meet.
Your business
Building is in Quebec
Être situés au Québec
Rate is not G or Flex G
Être assujettis à un tarif d'affaires autre que le tarif G ou Flex G2 pour le service et la livraison d'électricité (Medium and Large, S15)
Documents to attach
Ticks are kept on this device.
The money
Maximum per projectup to $5M per project
Un maximum de 5 M$ par Projet.
Minimum supportmin $500, $1,000, $100 by size
minimum support $500 (Small), $1,000 (Medium and Large), $100 (Farming)
Your minimum shareat least 25% of eligible costs
Indépendamment du montant calculé par l'outil OSE, le Participant ou le Client est tenu de contribuer à hauteur d'au moins 25 % des Coûts totaux admissibles du Projet présenté dans le cadre du Programme.
Payment after invoiceabout 45 days after invoice
Environ quarante‑cinq (45) jours après la réception de la facture originale conforme, Hydro‑Québec verse le montant de l'Appui financier approuvé
Energy analysis support40% to 60% up to $36,000
Energy Analysis: 40% of eligible costs up to $8,000/$20,000 (EE) or $9,600/$24,000 (EE+DR) first, 60% up to $12,000/$30,000 or $14,400/$36,000 second, by 1-2 GWh / >2 GWh band.
Your shareat least 25% of eligible costs
Indépendamment du montant calculé par l'outil OSE, le Participant ou le Client est tenu de contribuer à hauteur d'au moins 25 % des Coûts totaux admissibles du Projet présenté dans le cadre du Programme.
Stackingdeclare other funding; total not exceed 100%
Il s'engage également à déclarer les appuis financiers obtenus de toute autre source afin que le total n'excède pas 100 % du coût de l'Analyse énergétique.
Costs before approvalafter installation and implementation
Le formulaire OSE, accompagné des pièces justificatives exigées par Hydro‑Québec, doit être transmis après l'installation et la mise en œuvre des équipements efficaces.
What it pays for · 4
- les coûts d'achat des équipements neufs, à l'exclusion des frais de financement de ces équipements
- les coûts d'installation et de mise en marche des équipements neufs
- les coûts des travaux d'ingénierie nécessaires à la mise en œuvre des Mesures d'efficacité énergétique
- Les Coûts totaux admissibles à la réalisation de l'Analyse énergétique, y compris les coûts de main‑d'œuvre interne du Participant, avant les taxes applicables, sont pris en compte s'ils respectent les exigences du Volet Analyse énergétique.
What it does not pay for · 2
- Les coûts de mise en œuvre des Mesures d'efficacité énergétique avec ou sans Mesures de gestion de la demande de puissance ne sont pas admissibles au Volet Analyse énergétique
- Sont cependant exclus les coûts liés aux tâches administratives, à la facturation, à la négociation, à la rédaction d'un appel d'offres visant le mandat d'Analyse énergétique
From application to money
- Contact Hydro-Québec firstSend eligibility request before work start
- Send the project documentsSend project documents with quotes and plans
- Hydro-Québec confirms acceptanceHydro-Québec confirms acceptance in writing
- Invoice and get paidIssue invoice after billing request
- Energy analysis reportSend report within 12 months of acceptance
- Implement and maintainMaintain five years; deadline 3 years after approval
In the funder’s words · 6
- Contact Hydro-Québec first
- For the Customized Option, send the eligibility request by web form or call 1 800 463-9900 and have the proposal received before your work start date.
- Send the project documents
- Customized Option: the Proposition de Projet with quotes, data sheets and plans; Energy Analysis: the XLSX proposal with tabs i, ii and iii and the consultant's service offer.
- Hydro-Québec confirms acceptance
- Hydro-Québec confirms in writing its acceptance of the measurement plan or the savings calculations and the planned support, or revises the support if the work does not conform.
- Invoice and get paid
- After Hydro-Québec's billing request, issue an original invoice from your accounting system; Hydro-Québec stops the file if the invoice is more than 30 days late.
- Energy analysis report
- Energy Analysis: send the signed report, all invoices and the completed cost grid, then implement the measures to claim the second instalment. (au plus tard douze (12) mois après la date d'acceptation de la Proposition d'Analyse énergétique)
- Implement and maintain
- Keep the equipment in good working order for five years from the end of the work and report progress within ten working days of a written request. (au plus tard trois (3) ans après l'approbation par Hydro‑Québec du Rapport d'Analyse énergétique)
Quoted lines are word for word from the source documents; lines marked ◦ are our reading of them.
Everything you need to win Hydro-Québec Solutions Efficaces
Not a marketing summary. The actual checklist, intel, and stack strategy reviewers look for.
- 13-document checklist with what each reviewer is actually checking
- Your Application Game Plan — the print-ready PDF the preview below describes
- 7-step application timeline with prep hours per step
- Insider tip from program officers on what separates winners
- 5-program stacking strategy to combine with compatible funding
- Success profile + evaluation criteria — exactly what reviewers score on
Application Playbook
Step-by-step process, required documents, and expenses
Application Steps
Required Documents 13
Eligible Expenses 9
Ineligible Expenses 6
Intake Periods
Deadline Notes
Ineligible Organizations
- 6 more application steps
- 11 more required documents
- 9 eligible expenses
- 6 ineligible expenses
- Intake periods
- Deadline notes
- Ineligible organizations
Funding Stack Strategy
Compatible programs, clawback risk, and combined funding potential
Compatible Programs
Clawback Risk
Low RiskHow Hydro-Québec Solutions Efficaces Compares
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Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers to the questions founders most often ask about Hydro-Québec Solutions Efficaces