Power outages may last until Tuesday for some Hydro-Québec customers

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Power outages caused by the winter storm that began to hit Quebec on Friday morning could last at least until Tuesday for some customers, Hydro-Québec said Saturday.

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About 155,000 customers were without power as of 9 p.m. Saturday due to more than 2,600 separate outages. More than 40,000 of them are in Quebec City, compared to about 26,000 in Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean and about 13,000 in the Mauricie and Laurentians.

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Although Hydro-Québec crews managed to reconnect some 200,000 customers as of 4 p.m. Friday, an equal number lost power in the interim due to strong winds, Hydro-Québec CEO Sophie Brochu said. Record gusts of up to 125 kilometers per hour were recorded in Quebec City, said Régis Tellier, Hydro-Québec’s vice president of operations and maintenance.

“We are in a game of snakes and ladders,” Brochu told reporters on Saturday via video link. “As we reconnect customers who lost power, others are experiencing blackouts. This means that, collectively, we must have a lot of patience and resilience. You should know that we are doing everything we can to reconnect people as soon as possible.”

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About 1,200 Hydro-Québec employees and contractors are working 16-hour shifts to restore power, Brochu said. Some teams will work overnight on patrol work, he said.

“Obviously, the new blackouts that occurred overnight made it a bit more complicated for the work that needs to be done,” said Éric Fillion, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Hydro-Québec, in Montreal. “At the end of the day, we should be able to give him a better prognosis. It’s unfortunate, but there will definitely be customers without power on Monday and Tuesday.”

In addition to Quebec City, Côte-Nord, Chaudière-Appalaches and Gaspésie are among the areas where the winds have been the fiercest, Hydro-Québec executives said. Several roads have been closed, such as Highway 138 between Baie-Comeau and Sept-Îles, making it difficult for crews to reach transmission lines.

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Blackouts in western Quebec are “practically behind us,” Fillion said. “On the East Coast, there are still new outages.”

Ice storms in the Côte-Nord region have forced the disconnection of three transmission lines, Fillion said. While the temporary loss of those lines does not affect Hydro-Québec’s customers in the province, it does limit the company’s ability to export power, Fillion said.

Whenever possible, helicopter teams will be sent to inspect transmission lines, which stretch hundreds of kilometers away from cities and towns, Fillion said. Current weather conditions prevent the helicopters from taking off, but executives are hopeful that flights will resume on Saturday afternoon, he said.

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“It is possible that some lines are down. There may be other damage to our equipment, but we cannot confirm this at this time,” Fillion said.

The complexity of the situation means that it is difficult for Hydro-Québec to be specific about when power will be restored. The company should be able to confirm approximate delays by the end of the day Saturday, Fillion said.

“Obviously, we work as quickly as possible, but safely,” he said. “That’s the main focus.”

Hydro-Québec’s first priority is handling 911 calls, Tellier said. Next is restoring power to key customers such as hospitals, nursing homes and municipal facilities such as water processing plants.

A quarter of total outages currently affect fewer than five customers, and half of outages affect fewer than 20 customers, Fillion said.

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“What is difficult with a situation like the one we are facing in Quebec is that we have a lot of small outages that affect a small number of customers,” he said. “A lot of teams are required on the ground to address these issues.”

Prudence is also in order. Brochu asked motorists to slow down when passing Hydro-Québec crews on the side of the road. He also advised Quebecers to stay away from downed power lines.

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