Energy sector resilience to climate change

Integration of Climate Change at Rio Tinto Quebec Power Operations

Rio Tinto (RT) manages in Québec a hydroelectric system of more than 3,100 MW over a watershed of 74,000 km². RT has long used classical methods based on historical observations to build its ESP (ensemble streamflow prediction).  Recognizing the fact that historical meteorological data are no longer representative of the current and future conditions, RT developed a simple first step methodology to adapt their meteorological database to any present or future year. This corrected meteorological data is now used to produce adapted ensembles of flow forecasts for the day-to-day operation, long-term planning and project value assessment.

The presentation in three parts will highlight the company’s approach to tackling climate change challenges, the methodology of integrating climate trends and the implementation of the improved methods into management practices.

Climate change and Hydro-Québec: from the adaptation plan to its concrete implementation in projects

Hydro-Québec has been interested in adaptation to climate change for several years, particularly through its collaboration with Ouranos. Since 2001, this area of expertise has been led by Hydro-Québec's research center (CRHQ), and the research projects developed have involved the right people from the various business units concerned. In recent years, Hydro-Québec has set up adaptation committees to coordinate the drafting of its very first company-wide climate change adaptation plan. The first version of this plan is part of a transversal approach involving the main players in the company's value chain, thus ensuring that all stakeholders are well represented and allowing for more effective resilience and implementation of the necessary actions.

The first part of the presentation will focus on presenting the company's climate change adaptation process, while identifying the successes and lessons learned throughout the process of preparing its first adaptation plan. In the second part, the focus will be on the practices put in place to ensure that the principles of the adaptation plan are integrated into the implementation of the company's projects.