(Montreal) Hydro-Quebec was still struggling to restore power to its tens of thousands of customers who remained without electricity, early Friday morning, six days after the passage of deadly storms in Quebec and Ontario.
Posted at 7:40 a.m.
Shortly after 7 a.m., more than 42,000 subscribers had no electricity, including more than 29,000 in the Laurentides region alone. The two other regions most affected by the outages were still those of Lanaudière and Outaouais.
Hydro-Quebec reported Thursday noon that 55,000 of its customers had no power.
The state-owned company warned that further outages could occur while crews work to restore service. Moreover, Friday morning, there were some 7000 subscribers deprived of electricity more than at the end of the evening, Thursday.
To explain the magnitude of the task, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Hydro-Québec, Sophie Brochu, explained Thursday that last Saturday, 500,000 customers suffered a loss of electrical power in a short time, in a space of 100 kilometers by 300. She recalled that it was impossible to have teams ready for climatic events of such exceptional magnitude.
At a previous press conference, Hydro-Quebec had warned that residences that are more isolated or more difficult to access would have to wait until Friday or Saturday for the power supply to be restored.
Hydro-Québec must hold a press conference at 9:30 a.m. Friday to provide an update on the situation and possibly specify the timelines for recovery.
Separately, Hydro Ottawa says most of the approximately 37,000 Ottawa customers who were still without power on Friday should get it back during the day. However, weather conditions could affect restoration efforts if stronger winds, rains and thunderstorms occur.
Across Ontario, Hydro One is warning stricken customers in the Bancroft, Perth and Tweed areas are expected to be without power for several more days. About 61,000 Hydro One customers spent Friday night in the dark.
Bad weather last Saturday killed at least 11 people in Ontario and Quebec. The latest death, reported Thursday, is that of a 58-year-old man who the OPP said was struck by a falling tree in a remote area of the town of Marmora & Lake.