Power restored in Ottawa after last week’s severe weather
Categories: Canada
Power has been restored to all but a “very small number” of Hydro Ottawa customers as of Monday morning, according to the company, after severe weather on Friday caused outages that lasted through the weekend for some.
About 65 customers were still without power Monday, according to an email from Hydro Ottawa spokesperson Josée Larocque.
On Sunday, Hydro Ottawa’s website said about 220 customers were without power. That was down from about 400 customers on Saturday and significantly fewer than the more than 10,000 customers without power Friday night.
Laroque said some of those 65 still without power Monday have to make their own repairs.
“It’s important to know is that when there is damage to a homeowner’s own electrical equipment, such as the meter mast and wires connecting directly to the house, it is their responsibility,” the email reads.
“If this is the case, the homeowner may need to make repairs to their equipment via a certified electrician before Hydro Ottawa is able to reconnect power.”
WATCH | Scenes from Friday’s hailstorm in Ottawa-Gatineau:
A storm that passed through Ottawa Friday brought marble-sized hail and some flooding to parts of the city.
Hundreds still without power in western Quebec
In the Outaouais about 1,200 Hydro-Québec customers are still without power Monday morning, according to its website.
There were 21 Hydro-Québec teams working to restore power during the weekend, said spokesperson Julie Ouellet.
More than 100 local Hydro One customers didn’t have power Monday morning, according to its roundup.
The multi-day outages in the capital came during an ongoing strike of hundreds of Hydro Ottawa employees. It has been just over a month since the strike began.
Larocque said Hydro Ottawa implemented contingency plans in light of the labour disruption, “and we’re really grateful for the support and the amazing work that our teams have been doing considering the damage and conditions they had to deal with safely.”
On X, formerly known as Twitter, the union representing close to 400 utility workers said Hydro Ottawa should invest in its infrastructure and its employees.
“It’s hard for employees to not be there to help the community. This should not be a multi-day outage,” the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 636 said in a post on Saturday.
