West Island seniors struggling on sixth day of power outage question Hydro-Quebec priority system

Some seniors' residences still don't have electricity six days after an ice storm wiped out power for 1.1 million Hydro-Quebec customers.

On Montreal's West Island, residents at the L'Esterel residence in Pointe-Claire erupted into cheers when the power finally returned Monday.

"It was really difficult. Some nights it was so cold I slept with my housecoat and the comforter," said resident Helen Codner.

L'Esterel has three buildings with six storeys full of seniors, who were trapped in their units if they couldn't climb the stairs since the elevators weren't working.

"I had to carry my walker, plus bags and go up four flights of stairs. I thought it would just kill me," said Codner.

Another resident tells CTV News that a senior who needed oxygen was gasping for air as others tried to charge his medical equipment in a car.

Jean-Claude Remy says he had to throw out hundreds of dollars in groceries that spoiled in the freezer of his mother-in-law, who lives in the building.

"These three buildings are sort of off the radar from Hydro-Quebec. They've been forgotten," said Remy. "Yes, they're autonomous, but most of them are 80, 90 years old, and they're among the last ones to be reconnected to the grid."

Reports say two other residences in Notre-Dame-de-Grace and Outremont have also yet to be reconnected, despite the fact they are supposed to be prioritized.

Hydro-Quebec says private seniors' residences are not easily identifiable.

(Source: Hydro-Quebec)

"When it comes to a public residence for elders, we know where they are, we have that list, we are aware, and we prioritize those establishments," said Hydro-Quebec spokesperson Francis Labbé.

"When it comes to private homes belonging to a private company, sometimes the information we have is a company number," he said.

Labbé says information needs to circulate effectively between private seniors' residences (RPAs), regional organizations and Hydro-Quebec to ensure those residences are not bypassed.

"I can assure you that as soon as we learn about an RPA, we prioritize that institution," he said.

Resident Helen Bugdale says she wants to see seniors put higher on the list.

"It's fine to tell us it's been an oversight, but we need to know that next time, this won't happen," she said.