Thousands of residents on the island of Montreal, who have remained without power since Saturday due to a Hydro-Québec equipment breakdown, are trying as best they can to resist the freezing cold wave that has infiltrated their homes.
“My floor is frozen as if I were putting my feet in the snow,” summarizes Heri Kanamby, 42, who lives in accommodation in Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce.
He is one of the thousands of Hydro-Québec customers affected by a major outage hitting his borough and the city of Côte-Saint-Luc. The interruption occurred on Saturday morning, when Quebecers were consuming so much electricity that the state company reached a record for the winter season. On Sunday morning, consumption was even higher with more than 40,000mw consumed, but more than 9,000 homes were still without power.
“We are given updates, but we do not respect return times. It seems that we are not being taken seriously,” he laments, explaining that he stayed at home all day Saturday because the Hydro-Québec site predicted recovery during the day.
Heri Kanamby
PHOTO OLIVIER FAUCHER/LE JOURNAL DE MONTRÉAL
Until Monday for some
“I fell asleep and on Sunday morning, I had four blankets on my bed, but as soon as I went out, my hands froze,” says Mr. Kanamby, who was preparing to go to his parents’ house to get warm.
According to Hydro-Qubébec, an equipment breakdown at the Hamstead station was the cause of the outage. “We are not able to say whether or not it is the cold that is to blame,” said spokesperson Lynn Saint-Laurent.
She said that restoration could happen tomorrow “for certain residents”, while generators allowed a few thousand customers to regain power on Sunday.
A heater for his mother
In Côte-Saint-Luc, Vladimir Denotkine had to pick up his 89-year-old mother whose seniors’ residence located not far from his home was without power.
“It was super cold in his apartment,” he describes.
Also deprived of electricity, Mr. Denotkine managed to keep his house at around 18 degrees thanks to several indoor propane heaters.
“I thought I had enough, but I realized I hadn’t, with how cold it is,” said the man who had just gone to buy another heater at the store when The Journal met him.
A few blocks away, the family of Philippe Lamy and Sharon Go had just spent the night from Saturday to Sunday sleeping a few degrees above freezing.
The family of Philippe Lamy and Sharon Go. In the photo from left to right: Victor Lamy, Philippe Lamy, Angela Lamy, Marie Lamy, Madeleine Lamy and Sharon Go.
PHOTO OLIVIER FAUCHER/LE JOURNAL DE MONTRÉAL
“We slept together with a lot of place settings. We were prepared. We go camping in winter, so we’re used to it,” explains M.me Go.
The family’s four children were dressed in Poncho blankets.
“Hydro-Québec employees are doing their best and it is not easy to work in this temperature,” underlines Mr. Lamy. But the lack of regular updates is a little problematic. It leaves a bit of a bitter taste.”
To alleviate the inconvenience caused by the outage, authorities opened centers that allowed affected residents to warm up or recharge their electronic devices.
