The Société d'énergie de la Baie James is the company in charge of building the

hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...

development known as the

James Bay Project The James Bay Project (french: projet de la Baie-James) refers to the construction of a series of hydroelectric power stations on the La Grande River in northwestern Quebec, Canada by state-owned utility Hydro-Québec, and the diversion of neigh ...

in northern Quebec. It was established in December 1971 by the ''Société de développement de la Baie James'' (SDBJ), a Crown corporation of the province of Quebec and became a wholly owned subsididiary of

Hydro-Québec Hydro-Québec is a public utility that manages the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity in the Canadian province of Quebec, as well as the export of power to portions of the Northeast United States. It was established by the ...

in 1978.

Origins

In the summer of 1971, the

National Assembly of Quebec The National Assembly of Quebec (officially in french: link=no, Assemblée nationale du Québec) is the legislative body of the province of Quebec in Canada. Legislators are called MNAs (Members of the National Assembly; french: link=no, déput ...

passed

Bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

50, an Act establishing the Société de développement de la Baie James (SDBJ), a

Crown corporation A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a government entity which is established or nationalised by the ''national government'' or ''provincial government'' by an executive order or an act of legislation in order to earn profit for the governmen ...

tasked with the development of natural resources as well as the general administration of the James Bay territory. The development of the hydroelectric potential was the focus of a newly created subsidiary (the SEBJ) with Hydro-Québec as a majority shareholder along with the SDBJ. Both corporations would be chaired by Pierre A. Nadeau, an insurance executive recruited by

Robert Bourassa Robert Bourassa (; July 14, 1933 – October 2, 1996) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd premier of Quebec from 1970 to 1976 and from 1985 to 1994. A member of the Liberal Party of Quebec, he served a total of just un ...

's money man, Paul Desrochers. The passage of Bill 50 was controversial with Hydro-Québec's top executives, who felt the government tried to bypass the powerful

utility As a topic of economics, utility is used to model worth or value. Its usage has evolved significantly over time. The term was introduced initially as a measure of pleasure or happiness as part of the theory of utilitarianism by moral philosopher ...

. As the party picking up the bill, Hydro wanted control over the development of the hydroelectric project. Commissioner Robert A. Boyd, who was slated as the top Hydro-Québec executive and Nadeau's right-hand man at the SEBJ, first declined the appointment, explaining that with no background in public works, Nadeau would have little credibility with the

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

s running the operations. Conflict soon erupted between Hydro-Québec and Nadeau, who left less than a year after his appointment. He was replaced by Boyd, who kept informed of the latest development on the project by consulting with colleagues on the board on a daily basis.

References

External links

Société d'énergie de la Baie James
- Official Web site 1971 establishments in Quebec Hydro-Québec Bechtel James Bay Project Canadian companies established in 1971 Organizations based in Montreal {{Canada-powerstation-stub

Origins

See also

References

Further reading

External links