Hydro-Québec is adopting its first climate change adaptation plan to deal with the growing number of extreme weather events that could harm its service and equipment.
The state corporation plans a series of actions to be implemented over the next few years. One of the solutions that may be more visible to the public will be the replacement of wooden utility poles with composite or steel poles in certain areas.
“In some cases, if the wooden poles are very affected by more humidity, such as more precipitation and extreme heat, their lifespan will decrease. So there are two impacts: a greater vulnerability to breakdowns and a higher replacement rate,” explained the director of activation and integration of sustainable development at Hydro-Québec, Philippe Bourke, at a press conference on Thursday. to Montreal.
The plan contains a total of 26 areas of intervention that cover the design of the works, operation, breakdowns and repercussions on the infrastructures, as well as the health and safety of the workers of the public corporation.
Among the other measures considered, Hydro-Québec wishes to strengthen certain transmission lines, intensify the program to fell trees at risk for its distribution network, monitor northern forest fires more closely, increase the resilience of equipment climate change and protect its staff from heat stroke.
The plan is intended to evolve over time. Deadlines have been established for certain actions. However, it does not detail the costs necessary for the application of the various measures.
This article was produced with the financial support of the Meta Fellowships and The Canadian Press for News.
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