Hydro-Québec replaced fewer poles in 2022 than in the previous seven years, even as the state-owned company believes their maintenance is a “critical” issue to reduce failures.
“In light of the Auditor General’s findings, it is worrying to see that the pace of work has been reduced [sur la désuétude du réseau]», says François Bouffard, professor of electrical engineering at McGill University.
“What is certain is that a healthy pole has a higher probability of surviving an extreme event,” adds the power grid expert.
According to our Bureau of Investigation under the Access to Documents Act, Hydro-Québec preemptively replaced 4,877 poles on its network in 2022. That is 21% less than in the seven previous years and 47% less than in 2020, the most productive year in this regard.
Contributions replaced preventively
Crucial priority
However, in 2022, Hydro-Québec stated that preventative maintenance of poles was a “critical priority” to effectively reduce failures. The state-owned company even assured that it was “already working” to address this priority.
She then responded to the report by Auditor Guylaine Leclerc, who complained about a significant increase in the number of breakdowns in recent years, attributing this in particular to the lack of preventative maintenance.
Reached for comment, Hydro-Québec denied neglecting maintenance of its network. It highlights that the company treated 71% of the poles inspected in 2022 with the aim of extending their lifespan.
“Injecting chemicals into a pole” is an effective method of extending its use, Mr. Bouffard explains, although it does not match the effectiveness of a new pole.
Emergency exchange protocol
The state-owned company was also pleased to have achieved its goal of replacing 6,500 masts in 2022. However, the question of the preventive aspect of the exchange was neglected.
According to data obtained, Hydro-Québec had to “emergency” replace 3,641 poles in 2022, a high since 2015. The strong winds that hit Quebec in May and the holiday winter storm alone were responsible for the replacement of around 1,600 poles, according to contributions.
Hydro-Québec predicts that the number of poles to be replaced annually will increase from about 7,000 currently to 30,000 by 2035. The state-owned company owns around 1.9 million masts.
►Remember that Hydro-Québec is committed to reducing the number of outages by 35% by 2034.
Posts replaced for any reason
- 2018: 6885
- 2019: 7517
- 2020: 9651
- 2021: 8708
- 2022: 8518
Can you share information about this story?
Write to us or call us directly at 1 800-63SCOOP.