Ice storm - Hydro-Québec Provides an Update on the Outages

Today, nearly 1,600 workers are working hard to restore service to customers who are still without electricity.

Since the onset of the freezing rain storm, more than 95% of impacted customers have returned to power. Almost all customers still without power are expected to return to service today, but there may still be some more complex cases to resolve.

At 9:00 a.m. today, there are approximately 38,000 households remaining in a breakdown, primarily in the following areas:
• Montreal: approximately 24,000 customers
• Outaouais: approximately 6,000 clients
• Montérégie: approximately 5,000 clients
• Laval: approximately 3,000 customers

In total, nearly 1,125,000 clients have been affected since Wednesday due to the significant ice storm that affected several regions of Quebec. In some areas, we observed up to 30 mm of ice, causing trees or large branches to fall on our electricity distribution grid.To follow the situation, consult the Power outages status by region. Please note that, due to the scale of the event, it is unfortunately not possible to give a recovery time for each location as the map usually does. Customers should plan for alternative arrangements even if specific service restoration times appear.

If the ice storm damaged the service entrance mast of a residence, note that the repair work must be carried out by a certified master electrician. This work could be completed before Hydro-Québec teams visit, which would accelerate power restoration.

Important safety information

Do not approach power lines on the ground, or any other objects connected to our power system. Call 9-1-1 immediately to have the area secured.

Also, equipment and devices designed for outdoor use must absolutely not be used indoors, such as fuel-burning heaters, lights, generators or portable stoves (barbecues). These present a major asphyxiation or poisoning danger.