The Minister of Economy and Energy, Pierre Fitzgibbon, says that a third of subscribers affected by power outages should be reconnected within 24 hours.
Mr. Fitzgibbon provided an update on Thursday as more than a million Hydro-Quebec subscribers are without power due to the ice storm.
“It’s a crisis, you have to be very sensitive to that, Montreal is currently devastated, but I think that with the concentration of breakdowns at the level of the circuit breakers, we think that it will be under control very quickly,” he said. he says in press conference. Everyone is working to get this resolved as quickly as possible. »
More than 1.1 million subscribers are without electricity, about half of them in the Montreal region. Of the 2,100 breakdowns listed, a quarter affects 1,000 subscribers and more, which allows Hydro-Quebec to focus on strategic locations, explained the minister.
“The situation is such that Hydro-Québec expects to be able to restore power for about a third of subscribers within 24 hours,” he said. For the remaining two-thirds, of course, we are working very hard for the weekend, we will prefer to wait for the evolution of the day. »
The breakdown mobilized 1,100 workers in 557 teams, both from the state-owned company and from independent contractors and pruning companies. Provinces neighboring Quebec have also offered support.
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At his side, the Minister of Public Security, François Bonnardel, said he had no indication that this situation has caused victims so far.
“There are strategic places like hospitals, residential centers, CHSLDs, or others, so we are monitoring the situation,” he said.
Premier François Legault is on his way to Montreal, where he will visit the headquarters of Hydro-Québec. A press conference is scheduled for 1 p.m.
I will go to the Hydro-Quebec offices at 1 p.m. to see the portrait of outages in Quebec. The teams are on the ground and working to restore the situation. Thank you for your patience and follow the instructions.
— Francois Legault (@francoislegault) April 6, 2023
Two emergency centers have been opened to welcome citizens who need to take refuge, in Outaouais, in Cantley, and in Laval. Other locations will be made available as the situation evolves.
Minister Fitzgibbon said the scale of the situation is not comparable to the 1998 ice storm, however.
“The order of magnitude is totally different,” he explained. Here, we are talking about branches falling on wires, we have circuit breakers protecting us. »
More details will follow.