Winter Storm - Hydro-Québec Provides an Update on the Outages

Thanks to more than a thousand workers on the ground every day, Hydro-Québec has restored service to more than 400,000 customers on Christmas Day, or about 75% of all affected households. In total, more than 550,000 customers will have been affected at some point since Thursday night as unusually strong wind gusts moved across the province, causing significant damage. At 11:00 a.m. this morning, that number fell to 130 000.

The main regions affected are the following:

• Québec City: about 39 000 customers
• Saguenay – Lac-St-Jean: about 18 000 customers
• Côte-Nord: about 17 000 customers

At the height of the event, there were more than 380,000 customers without power at the same time.

To follow the evolution of the situation, consult the Power outages Status by region. Please note that the service restoration times shown on the map are approximate and may vary due to the number of outages and the kind of damage. Customers should plan for alternatives even if specific service restoration times appear.

The challenge is significant: power lines have been downed by uprooted trees. There are still over 2,000 sites where we must carry out work. Certain sites are located in remote areas, and repairs, which can be lengthy, may only restore service to a small number of customers. Nearly 90% of outages affect fewer than 100 customers. For these reasons, we know that there will unfortunately still be customers affected by the outages at the beginning of the week.

More than 1,200 workers will continue to work today. Hydro-Québec's President and CEO, Sophie Brochu, was in Québec City this morning to greet the teams and to provide media updates in the Lebourgneuf sector.

Hydro-Québec wishes to thank customers for their patience and understanding. We appreciate that the situation is difficult and want to assure you that we are doing all that we can to restore service as quickly as possible. There's never a good time for a storm and power outages. The holiday season is no exception. We know this is a difficult situation and we want to assure you that we are doing everything we can to restore power as quickly as possible.

Important Safety Information

For public safety, it is crucial that people not approach power lines. If you see electrical wires on the ground, please do not approach the area and call 911 to have the area secured.

We ask that motorists exercise caution near our worksites.

Also, customers must absolutely not use outdoor equipment and devices inside. Fuel-burning heaters, lights, generators or portable stoves designed for outdoor use can cause asphyxiation or poisoning if used inside. 

Finally, we also call for the utmost vigilance with regard to food poisoning. Most home insurance includes coverage for food stored in the freezer.