Hydro electricity is cut off by a freezing cold in the Outaouais region

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Allison Ouellet

Thursday, December 14, 2017 19:14

UPDATE
Thursday, December 14, 2017 19:14

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GATINEAU | Several hundred customers of Hydro-Québec in the Outaouais region have been deprived of electricity for several hours on Thursday, since the Crown corporation has not seen fit to postpone non-urgent by a siberian cold.

The mercury indicated -22 to Buckingham at 8: 30 yesterday morning when the Hydro-Quebec cut the power to the 340 customers. With the wind chill, the perceived temperature was -31 degrees.

Hydro-Québec is still gone forward with the work of replacement of power poles and the addition of conductors on the existing network.

The work was not urgent and Hydro-Quebec had advised customers that it could take place either on the 14th or the 19th of December.

Unacceptable

Without current, a mother of three children, Nathalie Poulin, had to borrow a generator to heat his house.

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“It is unacceptable to remove the power to the people with this temperature. It is cold. It is unpleasant, ” said the lady.

The Crown Corporation had sent a message to the residences targeted two days ago to inform them of the work including streets, Maclaren West, Albert, David and Kenny.

The outage began at 8: 30 am and lasted until the end of the day, or for 8 hours.

“It is fool. A few hours would have been correct, but not for such a long time,” says another resident Genevieve Rose.

Not impressed

The liberal member for Papineau Alexandre Iracà deplores the situation. In his message sent to the citizens, Hydro-Quebec argued, however, that the work could be carried forward to the next week.

“It’s not an urgent job! We were not in front of a situation where a tree had fallen on a wire. It looks more warm on the 19th of December. I think somebody has missed the boat somewhere”, writes the mp.

The municipal councillor of the area Martin Lajeunesse for its part argues that Hydro-Québec has not notified the city of this interruption of service.

“I find it deplorable. There is a lack of empathy “, says he.

Hydro is in washing the hands

The Corporation has responded by the end of the day that she had nothing to apologize for.

“We kept the disruption, because we were in the right to do so since it was on the top of -15”, said the spokesperson Sarah-Ann Landry.

Yet, according to the website of Environment Canada, it was colder than -15 degrees the whole morning. The warmest temperature was -14 degrees to 14 hours.

-With the collaboration of TVA Gatineau-Ottawa