Hydro-Québec is Quebec's provincial Crown corporation responsible for electricity generation, transmission, and distribution. It's one of North America's largest electric utilities, operating massive hydroelectric facilities in northern Quebec including the James Bay project. Hydro-Québec provides Quebec with relatively inexpensive, renewable electricity and exports power to neighbouring provinces and U.S. states. The corporation was created in 1944 and expanded dramatically with nationalization of private power companies in the 1960s under Premier Jean Lesage. Hydro-Québec's operations affect northern municipalities, Indigenous communities, and environmental conditions. Its low electricity rates have attracted energy-intensive industries to Quebec.