A fatal spring storm that swept through Quebec last month left more than 550,000 people in the dark and cost the province’s public utility upwards of $70 million.
Hydro-Québec released its findings on the weather event Tuesday, about three weeks after heavy rain and high winds uprooted trees, downed power lines and damaged homes in late May. Eleven people were killed in Ontario and Quebec.
“This is one of the events that required the most work on the ground since the 1998 ice storm,” the provincial Crown organization said in a statement.
Hydro-Québec reports the storm’s front moved over a span of 300 kilometres and winds reached up to 150 km/h. There were more than 11,000 power outages stretching from Gatineau to as far as Quebec City.
At the height of the incident, about 554,000 households were without electricity around 8 p.m. on May 21.
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The lights went back on within three days of the storm for the majority of affected households. The public utility reports 95 per cent of clients got their power back by midnight on May 27, approximately 125 hours after the storm’s peak.
The damage was so extensive that Hydro-Québec confirmed it took 2,000 employees working around the clock for 11 days to restore power.
The majority of power outages related to the storm — about 90 per cent — were related to vegetation, such as branches or trees that fell on wires. As a result, the public utility replaced 1,125 electrical poles and 400 transformers. It also installed 40 kilometres of electrical wires.
Hydro-Québec warns the massive cleanup has led to other work being delayed in the province.
“Our employees will do everything possible to mitigate this impact, and we thank our customers in advance for their understanding,” the organization said.
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