Hydro-Québec Targets Sunday Evening for Majority of Power Restorations in Montreal Area
Hydro-Québec has announced that a "great majority" of customers in the Montreal region who lost power on Saturday morning should see their electricity restored by the end of Sunday. However, the utility has acknowledged that some residents may need to wait until Monday morning for full service to resume.
Cause and Scope of the Outage
The widespread disruption was triggered by an equipment failure at the Hampstead power substation shortly after 10:30 a.m. on Saturday. Initially, approximately 15,000 addresses were affected, with significant impacts in areas including:
- Côte-St-Luc
- Notre-Dame-de-Grâce (N.D.G.)
- Montreal West
By 1 p.m. on Sunday, Hydro-Québec's outage map indicated that 4,482 out of 13,368 addresses in Côte-St-Luc remained without power. Across the broader Montreal area, the number of affected customers dropped from 18,400 at 1 a.m. Sunday to 9,711 by the afternoon.
Restoration Efforts and Challenges
Hydro-Québec spokesperson Louis-Olivier Batty detailed the ongoing efforts to reconnect customers. Seven generators are being installed to facilitate the restoration process, with three operational by noon on Sunday and four more scheduled for deployment.
"We have to go gradually," Batty explained, emphasizing that attempting to re-establish electricity all at once could risk further power failures. He also noted that while there was a "risk of fire" at the Hampstead substation on Sunday morning, no actual fire was reported to the Montreal fire department.
Community Response and Support Services
In response to the prolonged outage amid frigid temperatures, local authorities have activated emergency measures to assist residents. Key initiatives include:
- An emergency shelter at the Côte-des-Neiges Community Centre, operated in partnership with the Canadian Red Cross, which opened Saturday evening and remained available throughout Sunday.
- The Côte-St-Luc Aquatic and Community Centre on Parkhaven Avenue, which opened early Sunday to provide a warm space, coffee, and food for affected individuals.
- Door-to-door visits and phone calls targeting seniors and other vulnerable residents to ensure their safety and well-being.
Côte-St-Luc Mayor David Tordjman encouraged residents without power to utilize these community resources, stating, "It's a great place to warm up." He also expressed initial frustration with Hydro-Québec's communication, noting earlier on Sunday that "we are not getting the answers we need," though he later updated the community on the generator installations.
Customer Cooperation Requested
Batty issued a specific request to Hydro-Québec customers to aid in the stabilization of the power grid as service is restored. He advised:
- Avoid turning on power all at once in different rooms.
- Increase heat gradually, room by room.
- Limit electricity usage to essential areas to help manage the load.
"Using only the rooms you need will help us gradually restore," Batty emphasized, highlighting the importance of consumer cooperation in preventing additional disruptions.
Broader Provincial Context
The Montreal-area outage occurred within a larger context of power issues across Quebec. At the peak of the disruption, more than 41,000 Hydro-Québec customers province-wide were without electricity. By midday Sunday, this number had decreased to approximately 14,000, indicating progress in restoration efforts beyond the Montreal region.
Hydro-Québec has prioritized restoring power before conducting a full investigation into the cause of the equipment failure. Batty mentioned that it is too early to determine whether the extreme cold played a role in the substation malfunction.
As restoration continues, residents are advised to stay informed through official updates and to take advantage of available community support services until their power is fully reinstated.
