Electricity Bill for a Single person in an apartment in Quebec (2026)

One adult in a one or two room flat. The fridge runs all year, cooking is quick, and a laptop and TV cover the evenings. Nothing runs long enough to dominate.

A single person in an apartment uses about 6,583 kWh of electricity a year. At Quebec prices of 8.3¢ per kWh (source: Hydro-Québec 2025 comparison, Apr 2025), that is C$45.48 per month, or C$545.73 per year.

Benchmark: Natural Resources Canada, Survey of Household Energy Use 2019, Table 3.5a electricity intensity per household (GJ converted at 277.78 kWh/GJ): High-rise apartment. Data as of 2019. It covers all electricity use; electric heating is common in Quebec, Manitoba and Atlantic Canada, which is why those averages are high. The consumption benchmark is national (Canada); Quebec differs from it mainly through climate and price, and the price is what changes the figure below.

Where the electricity goes

Heating & cooling 35%
Other appliances 19%
Water heating 15%
Refrigeration & freezing 10%
Washing, drying & dishwashing 6%
TV, computing & network 6%
Lighting 6%
Cooking 3%

End use	Per year	Cost	Share
Heating & cooling	2,304 kWh	C$191.01	35%
Water heating	987 kWh	C$81.86	15%
Refrigeration & freezing	658 kWh	C$54.57	10%
Cooking	197 kWh	C$16.37	3%
Washing, drying & dishwashing	395 kWh	C$32.74	6%
TV, computing & network	395 kWh	C$32.74	6%
Lighting	395 kWh	C$32.74	6%
Other appliances	1,251 kWh	C$103.69	19%

End-use shares: Derived. NRCan publishes residential end-use shares for all fuels (space heating 59%, water heating 19%, appliances 14%, lighting 4%, cooling 3%, 2023) but not for electricity alone; electricity shares here are an approximation that treats roughly half of Canadian homes as electrically heated. Some of these shares are derived rather than published; see the note.

Through the day

Heating & cooling 35%
Water heating 15%
Refrigeration & freezing 10%
Cooking 3%
Washing, drying & dishwashing 6%
TV, computing & network 6%
Lighting 6%
Other appliances 19%

Illustrative shape of a typical day: each band's area equals that end use's share of 18.0 kWh a day, peaking around 19:00. The timing is a standard household pattern, not a measurement, and it changes with season and habits.

What drives this household's bill

The largest share here is heating & cooling at 35% (C$191.01 a year), followed by other appliances at 19%.
The fridge is usually the single largest item because it never switches off.
Cooking with the oven instead of the microwave or air fryer is the easiest cost to cut.
Standby draw across router, TV, console and chargers can reach a fifth of the total.

Appliance by appliance

Each end-use bucket above is spread over this household's appliances in proportion to their typical use, never at more than twice that use or more hours than the appliance can realistically run. What the listed appliances cannot account for appears as "not listed" rows, so the table still adds up to the official figures. Hours are implied, not measured.

Appliance	End use	Typical	Hours/day	Per year	Cost
Refrigerator	Refrigeration & freezing	150 W	12.0 h	658 kWh	C$54.57
Television	TV, computing & network	100 W	4.2 h	153 kWh	C$12.64
Washing Machine	Washing, drying & dishwashing	500 W	48 min	146 kWh	C$12.10
Laptop	TV, computing & network	45 W	8.4 h	137 kWh	C$11.38
LED Light Bulb ×5	Lighting	9 W	8.0 h	131 kWh	C$10.89
Induction Cooktop	Cooking	1,800 W	10 min	115 kWh	C$9.51
Hair Dryer	Other appliances	1,800 W	9 min	99 kWh	C$8.17
Wi-Fi Router	TV, computing & network	10 W	24.0 h	88 kWh	C$7.26
Vacuum Cleaner	Other appliances	1,000 W	8 min	46 kWh	C$3.78
Electric Kettle	Cooking	2,000 W	3 min	38 kWh	C$3.17
Microwave	Cooking	1,000 W	5 min	32 kWh	C$2.64
Toaster	Cooking	1,000 W	2 min	13 kWh	C$1.06
Phone Charger	TV, computing & network	10 W	2.1 h	8 kWh	C$0.63
Streaming Stick or Box	TV, computing & network	4 W	4.2 h	6 kWh	C$0.51
Small appliances, standby and items not listed	Other appliances	–	–	1,107 kWh	C$91.74
Additional lights and fittings	Lighting	–	–	264 kWh	C$21.85
Extra loads or older machines not listed	Washing, drying & dishwashing	–	–	249 kWh	C$20.64
Other screens, chargers, standby	TV, computing & network	–	–	4 kWh	C$0.32

Start from this household in the bill estimator and adjust it to yours

The same household in other countries

Country	Official benchmark	Per year	Per month
United States (average)	7,184 kWh	$1,318	$109.80
United Kingdom	1,600 kWh	£421.12	£35.09
Germany	1,200 kWh	€444.00	€37.00
France	1,905 kWh	€381.19	€31.77
Australia	3,109 kWh	A$1,088	A$90.68
Canada (average)	6,583 kWh	C$921.62	C$76.80

Each row uses that country's own regulator benchmark and average price, in local currency. Differences reflect climate, heating fuel and appliance ownership as much as price.

Electricity Bill for a Single person in an apartment in Quebec (2026)

Where the electricity goes

Through the day

What drives this household's bill

Appliance by appliance

The same household in other countries

Compare this household

Other households in Quebec

This household in your region