Faced with an uptick in power failures and growing threats to its grid from the impacts of climate change, Hydro-Quebec is distributing backup batteries to some residential users.

“We want to give customers the opportunity to build their own resiliency” during power outages, which will continue as weather becomes more extreme, Hydro-Québec’s chief operating and infrastructure officer Claudine Bouchard told a legislative committee recently.

A Hydro-Québec pilot has been under way since 2022, with batteries distributed to about 20 households across seven suburbs of Montreal’s West Island, reports the Globe and Mail. Each home has been equipped with a mini-fridge-sized stack of three batteries and a processing unit with a “modest” 10 kilowatt-hour output—enough to power the lights, Internet, and a select number of appliances such as the fridge and freezer.

“During last year’s multi-day outage around Easter, the setup provided 40 consecutive hours of backup support before running out,” notes the Globe.

The system has also been programmed to draw power from the home battery during periods of peak energy demand, reducing stress on the grid while saving the customers money. Starting this year, Hydro-Québec plans to offer batteries and other products like thermal accumulators to help customers during service interruptions. The utility also wants to try out neighbourhood backup power hubs, where mobile generators and charging stations move between communities during outages.

“When it’s very cold, we ask customers to reduce their consumption during peak periods,” said Bouchard. “At that point, batteries can also be an interesting tool for managing peak demand.”

Some details are still being worked out, she added, like how customers will buy the unit, or whether the customer or the manufacturer will get a purchasing discount.

“So that’s all that we have to tie up with several stakeholders: the hardware stores, the battery manufacturers,” Bouchard said. “We want to make sure these are products are reliable, too.”

The plans come as Hydro-Québec seeks to improve its performance after a rise in outages over the past several years. Last year was one of the 15 worst in the utility’s history, with the public utility spending C$77 million to restore power after several major storms and persistent forest fires. Aging infrastructure is making problems worse.

The backup battery scheme is part of a push to reduce power failures by 35% over the next seven to 10 years, beginning with an interim target of a 1% reduction in 2024. Last November, Hydro-Québec announced plans to invest $45 to $50 billion through 2035 to improve the reliability of its grid as part of Action Plan 2035, a broad initiative that could also add 8 to 9 gigawatts of new generating capacity and cost a total of $185 billion.

Hydro-Québec is not the only utility considering backup batteries to improve service and grid stability. Other efforts, like Green Mountain Power’s Zero Outages Initiative in Vermont and a pilot program conducted by Nova Scotia Power, are unfolding along similar lines.

“This is really us saying, ‘What solutions could we bring to the energy mix beyond deploying more power lines and infrastructure?’” said Jean-Pierre Croteau, Hydro-Québec’s head of residential and commercial vision.

“We’re really at the beginning of this wave” in exploring non-wire alternatives, he said. “It’s starting to get interesting.”