FAQ

The word Hilo comes from Hydro-Québec, with the “h” and the “o” echoing the parent company. It is a reference to “îlot” (“island” in English), which is a nod to the autonomy that comes with managing your own energy. More specifically, it refers to a space where energy gets smart, which is a core concern of our residential and business customers.

To develop innovative, value-added products and services in the energy and energy-related sectors, and position a major player in new energy services in Québec.

• Peace of mind: turnkey energy-related products and services to simplify your life and help you concentrate on what matters most.
• Tips and support to encourage smarter energy consumption.
• The potential to save money and earn rewards.

• Affordable smart products that you can use to program your home and simplify your life.
• Tips and support to help you consume energy better.
• A smart home service that reflects Quebecers' needs.
• New smart energy solutions that will be implemented in phases over the next few years, including energy services for businesses, electric mobility, smart storage and self-produced solar energy.

Hilo is 100% owned by Hydro-Québec. It is a subsidiary company that will be operated independently of Hydro-Québec.

By offering smart solutions to help us all consume energy better, Hilo will give Hydro-Québec the opportunity to export more hydroelectricity—an energy source that is more than 99% clean—and to accelerate the electrification of Québec's economy.

Yes. You will have two separate bills.

For our 1,000 testers, Hilo is free for the full duration of the test phase. We lend testers the smart home devices and install them free of charge (which represents $400 in installation savings). Once the test phase is over, if Hilo testers want to continue using Hilo, they can take advantage of our exclusive offer of up to $500* off the total price of their smart home devices when they become customers. That adds up to a total savings of up to $900. And if testers decide Hilo’s not for them after the test phase, we’ll reinstall their old thermostats free of charge and take their smart home devices back. Simple as that. 

Stay tuned: more details about Hilo’s smart home service will be unveiled before the official launch in fall 2020.

• A smart home is a house that has several connected devices that can be configured, managed and controlled with the use of mobile apps.
• In the case of Hilo, the offer will initially focus on features related to the energy sector.

Our offer will evolve over time, but Hilo is above all a turnkey smart home service that combines high-performing devices, support to help our customers consume energy better and challenges to help them save.

Here are the smart products that will be offered:

• A hub
• Smart thermostats
• Smart light bulbs
• Smart plugs
• Smart dimmers
• A smoke detector
• A weather station

Hilo smart home service final offer is currently under development.  More details to come in 2020.

Hilo’s smart home service will prompt its customers to accept challenges to reduce their energy consumption for a limited number of hours during winter peak periods. Customers will receive rewards for each challenge completed. A sure way to optimize their energy consumption and do good for both their wallet and the planet.

Customers will have full control of their smart home devices at all times, regardless of whether or not they are participating in Hilo challenges.

Smart home features require a high-speed connection. We will outline our eligibility requirements in the coming months.

Hilo and Hydro-Québec are two distinct entities. Their data is confidential and cannot be shared.

If Hydro-Québec customers want Hilo to access their data, they will have to authorize it.

Energy consumption is a significant expense for businesses. That's where smart solutions can help optimize costs and improve energy management for buildings. Hilo will roll out various services over time that will help customers lower their electricity bills and improve their energy efficiency.

Yes. Hilo aims to offer a turnkey service to help customers self-generate energy using solar panels. This new service will be part of the gradual development of Hilo’s activities and could be offered to residential, commercial, industrial and institutional customers in the next few years.

At this time, Hydro-Québec rates are more advantageous, because installing solar panels to self-generate energy is more expensive. However, because the price of solar panels is continuously dropping, this type of solution could become more profitable in the next few years.