Hydro-Québec goes on a mission to reduce outages

Felling of 75,000 trees. Replacement of more than 28,000 wooden posts. Installation of 500 composite posts in certain strategic locations. Light burial of 12 kilometers of line. Hydro-Québec detailed its strategy on Tuesday morning to reduce the number of outages by 1% in the next year and the rate of outages caused by vegetation by 30% by 2028.

During the presentation of his 2035 Action Plan in November, Hydro-Québec CEO Michael Sabia announced that improving the quality of service would be his organization’s first priority. “Unfortunately, the extreme weather phenomena that Quebec has experienced in recent years such as wind storms, ice episodes, and forest fires last summer have caused more frequent and longer power outages,” recognizes Claudine Bouchard, executive vice-president and head of infrastructure operations at Hydro-Québec. M^me Bouchard points out that the year 2023 is “among the 15 worst years for power outages” in the province.

In December, the Sutton region in Estrie was particularly affected by breakdowns. The Wakefield region in Outaouais also suffered several power interruptions in 2023, mentioned M^me Bouchard.

Better control of vegetation

To turn the tide, Hydro-Québec is aiming for a “combination of actions”. Investments of 130 million are planned in 2024 alone for pruning and cutting trees. Because 40% of breakdowns are attributable to vegetation, indicates M^me Bouchard. By intensifying its vegetation control work, Hydro-Québec plans to reduce the rate of outages per 100 km by 30% by 2028.

Lately in The Pressa group of tree architecture researchers questioned the techniques used by Hydro-Québec to control the vegetation around its network.

Questioned on the subject, M^me Bouchard mentions working with the UQAM Chair on architectural trees. And that the studies carried out by this Chair show that Hydro-Québec “has among the best practices in terms of pruning”.

Director of vegetation activity and external contracts at Hydro-Québec, Étienne Langdeau recognizes that “the best pruning is that which is not done”. But assures that pruning “does not affect the integrity of the tree” and “does not make it more fragile”. “If we look at the ice in Montreal, both in the large parks and the street trees and the trees on which we intervened, there was the same proportion of branches that broke. We cannot say that the tree that was pruned by Hydro-Québec was more fragile,” he said.

New tools

In the coming months, Hydro-Québec plans to inspect more than 17,000 km of electrical lines, as well as 200,000 poles and 10,000 structures and equipment, such as transformers.

Hydro-Québec plans to install 500 more resistant composite poles in certain strategic sectors of the territory. A composite post has a lifespan of 100 years compared to 60 years for a wood post.

Lines will also be buried using a “light burial” technique. But we are talking about only 7 km for 2024. “Covered” wires and therefore more resistant to shocks will also be tested by Hydro-Québec on 12.5 km of the network.

Asked about the low number of kilometers targeted by these two initiatives, M^me Bouchard explains that Hydro-Québec first wants to “see the results”. In particular the absorption capacity of the covered wire “before deploying it further”. M^me Bouchard also explains that covered wire is notably “heavier” than conventional wire and that surrounding installations must be prepared accordingly. Concerning the burial of wires, the senior director, operations, maintenance and distribution network, Maryse Dalpé, affirms that we “are going to introduce many more kilometers in the years that follow”. “Yes, it doesn’t seem like much, but we are in a strategy of accelerating the deployment of this technology,” adds M^me Bouchard.

Hydro-Québec also plans to test mobile vehicle charging centers so that electric cars can recharge in the event of breakdowns. And backup batteries to keep fridges, water pumps and the internet running during a power outage will be deployed in certain “more fragile” regions.

Finally, Hydro-Québec wants to improve its communication with its customers in the event of an outage. The Info-Banne site will be modernized to better explain to customers the progress of the work in the event of a breakdown. “We want to provide deadlines. In the event of a major event. To indicate to our customers where we are and when we plan to restore,” explains M.^me Dalpé.