Winter Storm: Hydro-Québec Provides an Update on the Outages

Again today, m more than a thousand workers are hard at work to restore service to customers who are still without power.

To date, close to 650,000 customers have had power restored, which is about 95% of those affected.

In all, almost 670,000 customers lost power at some point since Thursday evening as unusually strong winds moved across the province, causing significant damage. At noon today, some 30,000 customers across Québec still do not have electricity service.

The main regions affected remain the following:

Capitale-Nationale (city of Québec): about 9,500 customers
Saguenay–Lac-St-Jean: about 7,300 customers
Côte-Nord: about 4,100 customers

At the height of the event, during the night of Friday to Saturday, about 380,000 customers were without power.

To follow the situation, consult the Power outages status by region. Please note that the service restoration times shown on the map are approximate and may vary due to the number of outages and the kind of damage. Customers should plan for alternative arrangements even if specific service restoration times appear.

The challenge is immense: power lines have been downed by strong wind gusts or under the weight of broken tree branches. In addition, access to the power system is difficult. We must carry out work on some 1,600 sites. Some of these are very remote and repairs, which could take a very long time, may only restore service to a very small number of customers at a time. In fact, more than 50% of the outages affect fewer than 10 customers. For these reasons, it is likely that some customers will still be without power for a few days.

Hydro-Québec would like to remind customers to check with their municipalities to find out whether an emergency center has been set up.

Hydro-Québec wishes to thank customers for their patience and understanding. There's never a good time for a storm and power outages and the holiday season is obviously no exception. We know this is a difficult situation and we want to assure you that we are doing everything we can to restore power as quickly as possible.

Important safety information

For public safety, it is crucial that people not approach power lines. If you see electrical wires on the ground, stay away and call 911 to have the area secured.

We also ask that motorists exercise caution near our worksites.

In addition, customers must absolutely not use outdoor equipment inside. Fuel-burning heaters, lights, generators or portable stoves designed for outdoor use, including barbecues, can cause asphyxiation or poisoning if used indoors.

Finally, we also call for the utmost caution with regard to food poisoning. Most home insurance policies include special coverage for the loss of food in the freezer.

Information:

Hydro-Québec
514 289-5005