Montréal, June 30, 2026 — According to the Sortons le gaz! coalition, Quebec’s first Integrated Energy Resource Plan (PGIRE 2026–2050), unveiled by the provincial government today, fails to plan the province’s transition away from fossil gas. Instead, it treats the gas network as an asset to be preserved and further expanded rather than as infrastructure that must be scaled down. The actual costs of this choice also remain largely unquantified, even though they will have a significant impact on consumer rates.
“The government itself acknowledges that fossil gas consumption is expected to fall by approximately 42% by 2050. Elsewhere in the world, this is precisely the kind of scenario that forces regulators to plan for the downsizing of gas networks. The PGIRE recognizes the situation but proposes none of the actions that should logically follow,” stated the Sortons le gaz! coalition.
Five blind spots
- No decommissioning plan. Since 2024, the European Union has required distributors to plan for the gradual decommissioning of gas networks. The PGIRE requires only that Énergir and Enbridge Gas Québec prepare 10-year supply plans, without any obligation to plan for declining volumes.
- Gas preserved through dual-energy systems. The plan relies on dual-energy systems to meet peak winter demand—a model that locks customers into contracts lasting at least 10 years, delays electrification and costs up to 17% more than all-electric systems, according to Écohabitation. Hydro-Québec will compensate Énergir from its own funds, potentially paying as much as $2.41 billion by 2050 at the expense of dividends returned to Quebecers.
- Greening as an escape route. Énergir’s gas supply remains approximately 95% fossil gas. Even if the target of 10% renewable natural gas by 2030 is reached, the network would remain 90% fossil-based—not to mention the ecological risks associated with large-scale renewable natural gas production.
- Silence on the “scissors effect.” This mechanism, already recognized in France, occurs when the fixed costs of a gas network are spread among a shrinking customer base, causing rates to rise for customers who cannot leave the system. It is not mentioned anywhere in the plan.
- No estimate of the cost of maintaining two networks. The PGIRE provides neither an estimate of the cost of operating the gas and electricity networks in parallel nor an estimate of what renewable-source gas would cost households—even though one of its stated objectives is to prevent excessive rate increases.
An issue for the next government
In the midst of the election campaign, the Sortons le gaz! coalition is emphasizing that the next government—regardless of which party forms it—will need to correct the blind spots in this incomplete PGIRE as soon as implementation begins, rather than leaving customers and taxpayers to bear the cost of an oversized gas network. The coalition is calling on Quebec’s political parties to commit now to:
- require gas distributors to conduct a “minimum viability threshold” analysis to anticipate the economic and technical thresholds associated with declining gas volumes, particularly in the residential sector;
- implement the recommendation of the Advisory Committee on Climate Change to permanently prohibit all new buildings from connecting to the natural gas network beginning in 2026;
- give the Régie de l’énergie an explicit mandate to develop a planned network-downsizing strategy as part of distributors’ upcoming 10-year supply plans—not merely a strategy for injecting renewable-source gas;
- end the expansion of dual-energy systems and stop making Quebecers pay—through reduced Hydro-Québec dividends—the compensation provided to Énergir for keeping gas in buildings;
- recognize the “scissors effect” and prioritize protecting captive customers from the resulting spiral of rising rates;
- accompany this transition with a just transition plan for gas-sector workers, developed in collaboration with the unions representing them.
“Quebec must plan this transition in an orderly manner rather than allow it to happen by default. This PGIRE is a collection of election-minded good intentions and fashionable concepts, but it is not a plan. It contains no quantified measures for the gas network: no reduction target, no cost estimate and no timeline. For a government promising a transition at the lowest possible cost, this is the blind spot that will ultimately cost us the most,” the coalition concluded.
About the Sortons le gaz! coalition
The Sortons le gaz! coalition brings together environmental, labour and citizens’ organizations committed to promoting energy sufficiency and efficiency in the building sector while accelerating the transition of Quebec’s entire building stock to 100% renewable energy sources. It works to raise awareness of the true effects of so-called “natural” gas on our health, environment and finances, promote the benefits of replacing it, and explain how this transition can be achieved. To accomplish this, the coalition informs the public and decision-makers at every level.
Coalition members: Équiterre; Association québécoise des médecins pour l’environnement (AQME); Écohabitation; David Suzuki Foundation; Fondation Coule pas chez nous; Fondation Rivières; Greenpeace Canada; Imagine Lachine-Est; Nature Québec; Regroupement des organismes environnementaux en énergie (ROEÉ); Regroupement vigilance énergie Québec (RVÉQ); Virage Collectif; Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE); For Our Kids; Mobilisation environnement Ahuntsic-Cartierville (MEAC); and Travailleuses et Travailleurs pour la justice climatique (TJC).
To learn more about the coalition, visit sortonslegaz.com.
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