More than 545 Val-des-Monts residents without power during a heatwave

Mélissa Gélinas

During a heatwave, more than 545 Val-des-Monts residents experienced a power outage that lasted nearly 12 hours on June 25.

According to Hydro-Québec's website (Info-pannes), the power went out around 9:38 am. However, the announced restoration of power was continually delayed. "We were told that the situation would be resolved by noon, but when I got home from work around 4:30 pm, we were still without power," said Nathalie Deschênes, a Val-des-Monts resident. "After 12 hours, around 9:49 pm, it was finally restored," she adds. According to Deschênes, power outages are becoming increasingly frequent in the municipality. "Our generator doesn't have much downtime as it’s running quite often," she says. "I plan to get a bigger one, given how often there are outages."

No information regarding the reason for the power outage has been shared with residents. "The weather was nice, the temperature was normal," said Deschênes.

However, according to information gathered from Hydro-Québec, the incident was caused by a breakage that was reported during the night. "Our teams arrived on site around midnight and noticed that two (wooden) poles were broken," says Cynthia Rivard, a community relations advisor at Hydro-Québec. However, the cause of the breakage remains unknown. The installation was temporarily secured.

As a result, the following morning, the teams on site noticed the situation had deteriorated. "Indeed, there were other damaged poles located along Route 307," said Rivard. "Obviously, this was taken as a priority."

Several reasons can explain the damage caused to the structures. According to Rivard, the most common causes are tree branches falling on the electrical wires, causing them to break. It can also be a car accident. "This explains the revision of restoration times throughout the day," she explained.

Recommendations for a power outage during a heatwave:

• Stay hydrated

• Look for cool areas

• Keep refrigerator and freezer doors tightly closed

• Use a generator