Last week’s ice storm revealed some vulnerability in our power distribution grid. Thousands of families were without power for several days while thousands of workers worked tirelessly to restore the system.
It was anything but an ice storm, the power outages lasted longer than the storm that damaged our grid in just a few hours. If you believe the experts, these meteorological phenomena will be more frequent, more important and of longer duration in the coming years due to climate change.
Are we ready?
In 12 years, in 2035, the sale of petrol vehicles will be banned. More of us will have embraced the electric car and that’s good for the environment. But the question is whether we will become even more vulnerable. If we rely on the impact of a mini ice storm on our electricity supply and our daily lives, we have reason to fear. Because without electricity we have no light and no heating, but we also have no way of getting around in our (electric) cars to find shelter or seek help. Are we willing to take such risks?
Poorly trained shoemakers
The question, therefore, is whether Hydro-Québec will be able to invest heavily in its infrastructure to mitigate risk and meet ever-increasing electricity demands, while developing Québec’s hydropower potential as the spearhead of our economic development.
No matter how many times we are told that we are advocates of clean and renewable energy and that we aspire to become leaders in North America, we run the risk of becoming ill-shod shoemakers who cannot guarantee our own citizens a reliable high-quality supply in times of the great mobility change?
