The ice storm that plunged 1.1 million Quebecers into darkness on Wednesday night is “a completely different magnitude” from the 1998 crisis, says Minister Pierre Fitzgibbon, who expects the third subscriber to be back online within 24 hours.
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“We believe it will be under control very quickly,” said the energy minister as he took stock with his public security colleague François Bonnardel before the National Assembly.
“Obviously for the remaining two-thirds we’re working very hard for the weekend,” he said.
Authorities reported around 2,100 breakdowns around 9 a.m. on Thursday morning. More than 1,100 workers, including those from Hydro-Québec, neighboring provinces and several subcontractors, were on hand.
Of all customers without electricity, half are in the greater Montreal area. “The good news is that of those outages, about 25% affect 1,000 or more subscribers,” said Mr. Fitzgibbon. The “very high concentration” of outages therefore allows Hydro-Québec to intervene in strategic locations by reconnecting multiple customers at the same time.
Precautions
Prime Minister François Legault left for Montreal on Thursday morning. For his part, he is due to take stock this afternoon during a visit to Hydro-Québec headquarters.
“There is currently no major emergency on the territory,” said Public Security Minister François Bonnardel.
Messages to those who are currently without power and may be for several hours: “This is not the time to go camping at home,” stressed Mr Bonnardel, warning of gas appliances which may tempt some to keep warm.
“Now is not the time to take risks,” said Mr. Bonnardel.
Given the weather cocktail of the past few hours, two rivers are currently being monitored, the Acadie and Châteauguay rivers, the minister reported.
“The situation is not worrying, but under observation,” said the MP for Granby.
Two temporary reception centers have been set up, one in Cantley, one in Outaouais and one in Laval. Those in need can contact their municipality for more information.