According to the most recent data from Hydro Ottawa, nearly 10,000 customers are still in the dark, eight days after the violent storm that rocked the region.
In several areas served by Hydro Ottawa, power outages persist and the morale of the residents affected is beginning to be affected.
This is particularly the case of Catherine Culot-Paquette who lives in the Castle Heights area of Ottawa.
Catherine Culot-Paquette, a resident of the Castle Heights area of Ottawa, has been without power for several days. She spoke with Radio-Canada from her parents’ house.
Photo: Radio-Canada
I feel like I’m camping in town. Got my burners, did some hand washing… Right now I’m at my parents house doing some more washing. […] There are days when morale is quite low. But I’m lucky to live in a neighborhood where the people are very welcoming, very kind. We do what we can to cheer each other up
shared Ms. Culot-Paquette.
Another sector is particularly affected, that of Carlsbad Springs, in the Cumberland district, to the east of the city. Fifteen electricity poles remain to be repaired. Across the city of Ottawa, 300 need to be replaced.
Catherine Kitts, City Councilor for Cumberland Ward, Ottawa.
Photo: Radio-Canada
The city councilor for the district, Catherine Kitts, says she sees the discouragement of some residents who feel left behind.
Hydro Ottawa’s focus was on communities with higher density. So here we want specific updates. Residents want to know how long it will last
says the councillor, who like several other elected officials, says she is frustrated with the current situation.
Several residents with whom Radio-Canada spoke try to be understanding. They know that the situation is exceptional. But some criticize Hydro Ottawa’s lack of communication.
I understand that this is the biggest disaster for Hydro Ottawa. So I try to be understanding as much as possible. But at the same time, I think we could have a little more information. […] Even if Hydro Ottawa told me another five days, that would help me prepare or organize accordingly
says Catherine Culot-Paquette.
Same story for another resident, from the Alta Vista district this time, where Amély Friolet-O’Neil lives with her husband and their eight-month-old child. The current had however been restored in the night from Monday to Tuesday. But it was cut again on Thursday.
Ms. Friolet-O’Neil questions Hydro Ottawa’s crisis communication and complains that she has no answers to her questions.
The tweets are very nebulous. We know where work is being done. Our neighborhood was mentioned briefly on Thursday, then has since disappeared. There was never an update. The map is not accessible on the Hydro Ottawa website. We cannot zoom in to see what the status of the outage is in our neighborhood, how many people are affected, what is the estimated time or date of power return. It’s very blurry, very destabilizing
lamented Ms. Friolet-O’Neil, during a telephone interview.
Hydro Ottawa crews are busy reconnecting power to several areas of the City on Sunday.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Rebecca Kwan
On Sunday afternoon, Hydro Ottawa said in a press release that it had been able to reconnect 94% of its 180,000 customers and explained that it was starting the last stage of repair work aimed at isolated outages that still persist.
At the time of publishing this article, Hydro Ottawa had not responded to our interview request.
In Outaouais, 1,030 customers are still without electricity, mostly in the MRC of Papineau.
Hydro One reports for its part nearly 400 customers still affected.
With information from Rebecca Kwan and Benjamin Vachet
Reference-ici.radio-canada.ca