By Canadian Press

Extended power outages raise questions about resilience of Quebec’s power grid

Apr 12, 2023 | 10:58 AM

MONTREAL — The weeklong power outages across Quebec after the April 5 ice storm are raising questions about the resilience of the province’s electrical grid. 

François Bouffard, an electrical engineering professor at McGill University, says elected leaders need to consider how to strengthen the grid — and how to pay for doing it.

Bouffard says many of the areas most affected by outages have power lines in backyards, making electrical wires difficult to access.

He says burying power lines, particularly in dense urban areas, would protect them from falling trees and branches, but he says doing so is expensive.

Hydro-Québec says fewer than 3,000 clients are without power since the ice storm and that it expects to reconnect the remaining homes and businesses today.

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Hydro spokeswoman Caroline Des Rosiers says it’s too early to determine what lessons can be drawn from the storm, which cut power to more than a million customers.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 12, 2023.

The Canadian Press