Sutton Mayor Denounces Hydro-Québec’s Lack of Transparency in the Brome Project

– PRESS RELEASE –

After more than two years of discussions, meetings, municipal resolutions and repeated requests for information, the Mayor believes that Hydro-Québec’s decisions demonstrate a clear lack of transparency and insufficient openness toward solutions proposed by municipalities and citizens.

“Since the beginning of this process, we have worked in good faith, asked legitimate questions and put forward constructive solutions. Despite this, several key pieces of information have never been made public, and alternative scenarios were not subjected to the transparent analysis that citizens had every right to expect,” said Mayor Robert Benoît.

The Town has always recognized the need to improve the reliability of the region’s electricity supply. The numerous power outages experienced between 2021 and 2023 demonstrated the importance of investing in energy infrastructure. However, the Mayor believes that decisions regarding the project must be based on complete, accessible and verifiable information..

Among the concerns raised during the press conference were:

• Hydro-Québec’s ongoing refusal to make public certain technical and financial data used to evaluate alternative scenarios;
• The lack of a transparent analysis of solutions proposed by citizens and municipalities;
• The rejection of scenarios that could have significantly reduced impacts on agricultural lands, natural environments and landscapes;
• The lack of satisfactory answers to the many questions submitted by the Town over the past several years.

The Mayor also noted that several municipal elected officials from the region, as well as the Brome-Missisquoi RCM, have asked Hydro-Québec to further assess certain corridors and provide additional visualization tools to help the public better understand the actual impacts of the proposed routes.

“Citizens are entitled to all relevant information. When a project of this magnitude permanently transforms a territory, it must be assessed with rigour, transparency and a genuine spirit of collaboration,” added the Mayor.

The Mayor of Sutton intends to continue his efforts with Hydro-Québec, government authorities and regional partners to ensure that the concerns expressed by residents are fully heard and taken into account during the next phases of the project.

About the Brome project

The Brome project aims to strengthen the power supply in the Sutton-Lac-Brome area to meet the region’s future needs. Discussions are focusing on the location of a new substation and the route of the transmission line to be connected to it.

News to read:
Citizen’s project for a 69-kV power line as an alternative to Hydro-Québec’s project unveiled (June 9, 2025)
Council disapproves of Hydro-Québec’s oversized project for a new substation (April 7, 2025)
The Town of Sutton calls on Hydro-Québec to pay closer attention (February 10, 2025)