How will Hydro-Québec manage more than 1,500 outages?

The violent winds and thunderstorms that hit the province plunged more than 500,000 homes into darkness for an indefinite period on Saturday evening.

• Read also: Tornadoes and violent thunderstorms Saturday in Quebec: thousands of homes without electricity

Via Twitter, the company explained how it was proceeding to restore power and remedy more than 1,500 outages. Explanations.

“The weather event that affected several regions of Quebec was extremely violent. Our teams are at work to restore service, ”announced on the Hydro-Québec social network on Saturday evening.

“You should know that, initially, when a breakdown occurs, we don’t know the exact cause. It can be a branch, a tree, broken equipment, a broken pole, etc. But the only way to find out is on the pitch.”

Due to the long distances to be traveled, the company explains that it can take time to get to the place of the breakdown.

“As our employees inspect the places where damage has been found, we have a better idea for each place. However, at any time, a team can be called elsewhere to intervene in an emergency. Which brings us to the order of priority,” she continues.

Hydro-Québec teams therefore first prioritize places presenting immediate dangers (wires on the ground, sparks, incidents, etc.) and essential public services such as hospitals, drinking water plants, police stations and fires, centers for the elderly.

Thereafter, it is the number of people concerned that takes precedence. “If a repair makes it possible to reconnect 5,000 customers at once, it will be prioritized over a repair that makes it possible to reconnect 4′′, illustrates Hydro-Québec, specifying that this is constantly evolving and the teams can therefore be reassigned according to the priority failures which could be added or reported.

“What we can say is that there are 1,505 breakdowns, so 1,505 places where the cause must be determined and work carried out. It’s a big job. Our teams will work day and night until the last customer affected is reconnected,” the company promised.