More than 300,000 Hydro-Quebec customers still without power
Posted December 24, 2022 11:30 am.
Last Updated December 24, 2022 11:38 am.
Weather warnings remain in place across the country as major storms continue to dump snow and freezing rain on Quebec, Ontario and B.C., and batter the Atlantic provinces with heavy rain and powerful winds.
Hundreds of thousands of customers have been left without power in the final hours before Christmas, with hydro crews working around the clock to get the lights back on.
More than 320,000 Hydro-Quebec customers remained without power Saturday morning, including nearly 80,000 in the Quebec City area.
In the Cote-Nord region of northeastern Quebec, more than half of Hydro-Quebec customers are without power, while in the Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean region, power outages continue to affect around a third of the utility’s customers.
Quebec City and the city of Saguenay have opened warming shelters for residents without power.
A Hydro-Quebec spokesman said about 1,000 workers were repairing power lines to restore electricity to approximately 320,911 customers as of mid-morning Saturday.
WATCH: Winter storm leaves hundreds of thousands without power in Quebec
Disruptions to roads, ferries, trains
Meanwhile several provincial roads remain closed and a number of ferry crossings along the St-Lawrence River have been cancelled due to continued poor conditions.
Via Rail says nine trains running between Quebec City and Windsor have been immobilized due to extreme weather conditions, and some passengers on social media say they have been stuck for over 18 hours without food or water.
The rail service says nine trains are currently stuck due to power outages, trees on tracks and even a tree falling on a locomotive.
Via Rail says to expect significant service delays in the Quebec City-Windsor corridor today and is urging passengers to check its website before going to Via stations.
