Nearly 500K Hydro-Quebec customers lose power, service largely restored
Hydro-Quebec says it is investigating a "loss of production" on its power grid Tuesday, which caused widespread blackouts across the province.
Nearly half a million customers lost power at the height of the outage during the early afternoon. Of the 498,000 customers who lost electricity, more than 140,000 were on the Island of Montreal. Other hard-hit areas were the Montérégie region, the Laurentians and Laval.
The outage map on the Hydro-Quebec website shows most of the blackouts are in the Montreal area. (Source: hydroquebec.com)
Power was starting to come back for some customers shortly after the outages started, though many still do not have electricity.
Hydro-Quebec spokesperson Caroline Desrosiers said the Crown corporation does not yet know what caused the power grid to fail, but teams are looking into it.
In a tweet, Hydro-Quebec said the loss of production happened at the Churchill Falls power station, which triggered a protective mechanism to cut power.
"Please note that you do not have to report the outage via the Info-pannes service and that the estimated delays by Info-pannes are not applicable in this type of outage since there is no work to be done on the distribution network," the tweet said.
Newfoundland and Labrador power serivce NLHydro also tweeted, saying, "During maintenance this afternoon, an issue at Churchill Falls resulted in a loss of supply affecting customers in Quebec. All units are back online. The incident is under investigation."
As of 3:30 p.m., there were less than 20,000 clients without electricity, including 18,500 in the Montérégie, and just 375 in Montreal.
LISTEN ON CJAD 800 RADIO: Hydro-Quebec provides update on flash outages across the province
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Iran fires air defence batteries in provinces as explosions heard near Isfahan
Iran fired air defence batteries early Friday morning as explosions could be heard near a major air base near Isfahan, raising fears of a possible Israeli strike following Tehran's unprecedented drone-and-missile assault on the country.
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer denied bail after being charged with killing Canadian couple
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.
Nearly half of China's major cities are sinking, researchers say
Nearly half of China's major cities are suffering 'moderate to severe' levels of subsidence, putting millions at risk of flooding especially as sea levels rise.
Prince Harry formally confirms he is now a U.S. resident
Prince Harry, the son of King Charles III and fifth in line to the British throne, has formally confirmed he is now a U.S. resident.
Judge says 'no evidence fully supports' murder case against Umar Zameer as jury starts deliberations
The judge presiding over the trial of a man accused of fatally running over a Toronto police officer is telling jurors the possible verdicts they may reach based on the evidence in the case.
Health Canada to change sperm donor screening rules for men who have sex with men
Health Canada will change its longstanding policy restricting gay and bisexual men from donating to sperm banks in Canada, CTV News has learned. The federal health agency has adopted a revised directive removing the ban on gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, effective May 8.
Colin Jost names one celebrity who is great at hosting 'Saturday Night Live'
Colin Jost, who co-anchors Saturday Night Live's 'Weekend Update,' revealed who he thinks is one of the best hosts on the show.
Sports columnist apologizes for 'oafish' comments directed at Caitlin Clark. The controversy isn't over
A male columnist has apologized for a cringeworthy moment during former University of Iowa superstar and college basketball's highest scorer Caitlin Clark's first news conference as an Indiana Fever player.
'Shopaholic' author Sophie Kinsella reveals brain cancer diagnosis
Sophie Kinsella, the best-selling author behind the 'Shopaholic' book series, has revealed that she is receiving treatment for brain cancer.