Montreal Restores Power Post Gas Leak and Fire; Some Await Service
On Tuesday, two significant electrical outages impacted thousands of residents in Montreal, primarily due to a gas leak and a fire. While most customers have already been restored, some are still waiting for service to resume.
Overview of the Outages
The first outage occurred around 10:40 a.m., affecting approximately 11,500 Hydro-Québec customers in downtown Montreal, Westmount, and the Sud-Ouest borough. Firefighters responded to a gas leak at Alexis Nihon, prompting a safety shut-off of power. Hydro-Québec community relations advisor, Chloé Masson, indicated that power was expected to be restored by 7:30 p.m., though this timeline was subject to change.
Restoration Efforts in Westmount
By the end of the day, all customers in Westmount had their power fully restored. The coordinated efforts involved Montreal police and the gas supplier, Énergir, who assisted in the operations.
East End Outage Details
The second outage affected Montreal’s east end, impacting areas such as Anjou, Saint-Léonard, and Montreal North. This outage arose from two separate equipment failures. The first outage affected just over 180 customers, while the second impacted more than 4,000 residents.
Restoration Timeline
- The smaller outage’s service was initially expected to return by 9 p.m.
- The larger outage’s restoration was anticipated around 7 p.m.
- By 6:40 p.m., Hydro-Québec confirmed the reconnection of the 4,000 customers from the larger outage.
- However, around 160 customers remained without power after the restoration.
By approximately 9:30 p.m., Masson announced that crews would need to replumb a pole and undertake repairs to the network. As a result, those 160 customers were likely to experience delays until around 8 a.m. the following day.
In summary, while Montreal made significant progress in restoring power after the gas leak and fire incidents, some residents faced extended outages as repair work continued.
