Maritime Electric is the supplier of electricity in Prince Edward Island

Prince Edward Island

Prince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. Maritime Electric is a public utility

Public utility

A public utility is an organization that maintains the infrastructure for a public service . Public utilities are subject to forms of public control and regulation ranging from local community-based groups to state-wide government monopolies...

 regulated by the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission (IRAC) under the Electric Power Act and the Renewable Energy Act. Electricity rates and directives over all operations and expenditures are subject to IRAC’s approval.

On November 13, 2009, it was announced that the PEI government is in discussion with the province of Quebec

Quebec

Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

 in regards to providing electric power between the two provinces, which could lead to a long-term supply contract with Hydro-Québec

Hydro-Québec

Hydro-Québec is a government-owned public utility established in 1944 by the Government of Quebec. Based in Montreal, the company is in charge of the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity across Quebec....

, the construction of a submarine transmission line linking PEI and the Magdalen Islands

Magdalen Islands

The Magdalen Islands form a small archipelago in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence with a land area of . Though closer to Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia, the islands form part of the Canadian province of Quebec....

, and, pending Fortis' involvement, the sale of Maritime Electric to Hydro-Québec. This followed the announcement of Hydro-Québec's proposed purchase of most of NB Power

NB Power

NB Power , formerly known as New Brunswick Power Corporation and New Brunswick Electric Power Commission is the primary and former monopoly electrical utility in the Canadian province of New Brunswick...

's assets two weeks earlier (which would later fail in March 2010).