Delays are increasing in the largest Hydro-Québec IT site. Scheduled two years ago, the delivery of the platform, which must orchestrate the entire production and transport of electricity is postponed to 2027, learned The press. The anticipated cost overruns now reach $ 75 million, but Hydro-Québec says “not have lost control”.
“Today, we are 14 % in advanced cost,” confirms to The press Cyril Jaouich, Director Evolution of network driving systems at Hydro-Québec.
Mr. Jaouich puts the importance of projected overruns given the complexity of this computer system: “We are in a range which is authorized by our instances, but we are aware that we [se dirige] Towards a certain overcoming. »»
Dilapidated systems to replace
Necessary for the neuralgic activities of the Crown Company, the new platform must replace the existing behavior systems which allow Hydro-Québec, since the turn of the century, to manage all of its production and the transport of electricity on its network.
During the first presentation of the project to the energy management, in 2018, Hydro-Québec argued that it was necessary to “act with speed” to replace systems which it described as dilapidated and outdated.
A failure could “have a very important impact in its customers by causing a loss of visibility of the transport network, the state of equipment and measures,” wrote the Crown Business, advancing that the new system was to be released by 2023.
The following year, after spending nearly $ 20 million to target its needs, Hydro-Québec signed a contract with the American Open Systems International (OSI) firm to oversee the development and deployment of the solution. An envelope of $ 541 million was then released.
However, since delays have multiplied. After being postponed to 2024, delivery was then postponed to 2025, then 2026 and more recently to 2027, according to communications obtained by The press.
These evoke that efforts to integrate the functionalities of the regional transport network “are larger than anticipated at the start”. A Hydro-Québec team has also recently been added to “speed up the work”.
Supply and shortage issues
Mr. Jaouich explains the deadlines and overruns by adapting the work during the pandemic, but also by the issues of supplying equipment as well as the shortage of microprocessors between 2020 and 2023.
Cost overruns would have been much greater if it was not the flat-rate agreement that Hydro-Québec concluded with Osi, he maintains. “This is one of the main reasons that explains that we have been able to control our costs and that they did not explode. We have established a price for all the work, rather than for the time it takes to do them. »»
Hydro-Québec also had to review the initial project to slow down delays and maintain overruns below 15 %. In 2023, the Crown Company decided to repatriate internally the development of the Distribution Division Division system.
The new driving system
Network driving systems are neuralgic IT systems that allow Hydro-Québec to have not only a global view of its operations, but also to orchestrate its production activities as well as electricity transport and distribution. The new system should offer simulation tools to analyze and better understand the driving methods of the network. It will also be possible to collect the data necessary to ensure the interaction between Hydro-Québec and autoproductive customers. In the coming years, Hydro-Québec wants to convince 125,000 customers to install solar panels and inject their surplus into the network. Owners of electric cars could also exchange energy during peak periods.
