81,000 Hydro-Québec customers without power due to strong winds

As Quebec is swept by a cold front that is causing temperatures to plummet, strong winds are causing numerous power outages in almost every region of the province.

Around 5:30 a.m., more than 70,000 Hydro-Québec customers were without power — a number that had climbed rapidly during the previous hour. By 10 a.m., approximately 315,000 Hydro-Québec customers were without power.

As of 3:30 p.m., roughly 1,360 customers were without power in Montreal, 48,763 in Montérégie, 10,246 in Laval, and 20,290 in Laurentians.

By 5:30 p.m. more than 135,000 Quebec households remained without power, including 1,287 in Montreal.

Three hours later, that number was down to 81,105 across Quebec, with just 80 of those in Montreal.

By midnight, 50,979 households were still without power. Only 18 of those were in Montreal.

“The unique aspect of this event is that many regions are affected at the same time,” said Pascal Poinlane, spokesperson for Hydro-Québec.

“There are a lot of small breakdowns (…) so I ask people to be patient,” Premier François Legault said in the afternoon.

Legault said by the end of the week, a weak system entering the southern part of the province will bring about five centimetres of snow. “Winter is still here, and it’s not leaving soon,” Legault said.

On social media, Hydro-Québec posted photos of about ten electric poles littering the shoulder of a country road in Verchères, in Montérégie.

Hydro-Québec is urging citizens to avoid touching electrical wires lying on the ground.

“You must stay at least ten meters away from the electric wires because there can always be electricity in those wires,” and you must also not try to move these wires directly or indirectly, with tree branches, for example.

Hydro-Québec told CityNews in a statement:

“Strong winds are currently affecting large parts of Québec, with gusts reaching up to 90 km/h and as high as 120 km/h in some areas. Most outages are caused by vegetation coming into contact with the distribution network. The high winds are weakening trees and branches, which can fall onto power lines and cause service interruptions. Our crews are fully mobilized in the field to restore service as quickly as possible with more than 1,100 workers are currently deployed across the province, including line workers, splicers, vegetation crews, pole replacement teams and telecommunications support. We are also reaching out to external contractors to confirm their availability if needed.”

Chaudière-Appalaches, Estrie and Montreal had between 5,000 and 10,000 homes without electricity.

Outages were also reported in Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Bas-Saint-Laurent, Capitale-Nationale, Centre-du-Québec, Mauricie, Outaouais and Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, among others.

A weather system began sweeping across the province Monday evening and continued its northeastward trajectory Tuesday morning. Beyond the precipitation—rain or snow, depending on the area—it’s the strong winds that are causing problems.

Environment Canada has issued a “yellow” wind warning for several areas, including the Eastern Townships, the Quebec City region, the Lower St. Lawrence, and the North Shore. The warning indicated expected gusts of up to 90 kilometres per hour.

Other regions, including Abitibi-Témiscamingue, are under a “yellow” winter storm warning, with an additional accumulation of 5 to 10 centimetres of snow expected by midday.

The passage of this weather system is accompanied by a marked drop in temperatures. In Montreal, where it reached 14 Celsius on Monday evening, the mercury is expected to plummet to minus-8 C on Tuesday. With the wind chill, it should feel as cold as minus-16 C.

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–With files from La Presse Canadienne