Frequently asked questions – Outages

Power outages

A power outage is always unexpected. Outages have many causes: bad weather, equipment breakdowns, branches or trees falling on the lines, and more.

Planned service interruptions

Planned service interruptions are scheduled and customers are advised in advance. Their purpose is to allow our workers to carry out system maintenance or upgrades in complete safety. We try to limit the inconvenience to our customers by using live-line methods wherever possible; however, sometimes shutting off the power is unavoidable.

These outages are always indicated on the planned service interruptions map. The affected households will receive advance notice via an automated call or through an alert in the mobile app. This is why it’s important to keep your contact information up to date in your Customer Space.

Emergency interruptions

Hydro-Québec may sometimes be asked to cut the power in a given area by emergency responders like the fire department or the police. In these situations, the outage isn’t due to any problems with the grid, but rather to reasons beyond our control. It can also be hard to predict when service will be restored, since we cannot turn the power back on until the emergency services have declared the situation safe and given us the go-ahead.

Bad weather—violent winds, lightning, wet snow or ice buildup on the lines—is the main cause of outages, but fallen trees or equipment breakdowns can also knock out the system. And that’s not all! Animal interference with our facilities, motor vehicle accidents involving power lines and other factors related to human activity can affect the electricity service as well.

There are a number of possible explanations for this.

When service is restored, the system may experience a surge if too many appliances that had been on before the outage began weren’t unplugged or turned off. A new interruption can also be triggered by equipment breaking down elsewhere on the grid after repairs had been completed in one section. Yet another possibility is the need to de-energize a newly repaired line segment so that another can be repaired safely.

Lastly, when the power has been off for eight hours or more, Hydro-Québec may voluntarily extend the outage at certain addresses in order to better distribute the load. Known as a “gradual service restoration,” this practice avoids tripping safety mechanisms and prevents equipment failures.

Major outages affect multiple regions of Québec simultaneously and call for a large-scale, concerted response from the ground crews, who often have to travel between regions and work long hours.

Major outages are most often triggered by extreme weather events. Today, with the effects of climate change increasingly frequent and intense, this type of service interruption is on the rise.

It is also more difficult to predict service restoration times during major outages. Estimates tend to become clearer as the extent of the damage is assessed and determine the work that needs to be done to repair the damage.

The service restoration strategy is closely linked to the nature and extent of the outage. Priorities are established based on the situation at hand, the specific needs of a given municipality and/or the directives issued by public safety authorities.

During outages

In these cases, Hydro-Québec uses an algorithm to estimate the service restoration time. This tool bases its calculations on the distance between the outage’s location and the nearest distribution point garage. In general, crews have enough time to arrive at the site, carry out the repairs and restore service within the stated time frame. However, once crews are on-site and after they have assessed the damage, they may need to request an adjustment to the initial time frame.

During major outages

When the outage is more extensive, three factors will influence how long it will take to restore the service: weather conditions, the extent of the area affected, and the number of crews on the ground. The situation can change suddenly, further complicating the process of producing an estimate.

Hydro-Québec dispatches crews to assess the situation on the ground and adapt the response. Weather conditions and the size of the affected area can impact the progress of the repairs. Crews in regions less affected by the outage will be redirected to areas that are more affected, thus helping to speed up the restoration time.

Line patrols are also sent to the site to gauge the extent of the damage and get a sense of how long the repairs will take. They may request an adjustment to the initial time frame once they’ve completed their evaluation.

The procedures that govern how outages are addressed are based on set priorities, but circumstances can alter these priorities and require a revision to the estimate.

During outages and planned service interruptions, Hydro-Québec may voluntarily extend the interruption at certain addresses in a given sector. Known as a gradual service restoration, this process explains why power may be restored in some homes in your neighbourhood before yours.

Gradual service restoration involves extending the service interruption at certain addresses following an outage or a planned service interruption. Restoration times will vary from one address to another. This process allows the load to be better distributed and the equipment to come back online gradually, preventing the tripping of protection mechanism and equipment failures on the grid. The aim is to avoid secondary outages that could affect even more households.

Has your home been affected by a gradual service restoration? Visit our Power outages page to track the service status at your address and find out when service is expected to be restored.

At these addresses, the interruption may be prolonged by 30 minutes to five hours. This is in addition to the duration of the outage.

Yes. Despite Hydro‑Québec’s efforts to limit the number of times an address is affected by the process, a household may be impacted more than once during the winter.

Yes. When an outage is detected in a breaker on the main section of the grid—a situation that can affect multiple households—Hydro-Québec first tries to restore the power remotely. If these attempts fail or if other equipment is concerned, crews are dispatched to the site and a service restoration time is established.

The crew may have had to leave to check or repair equipment farther up or down the line. It may also have been called to an emergency, such as downed lines.

Crews sometimes need to wait for instructions from the operating centre before it is safe for them to begin work. It could also be that their work needs to be coordinated with that of other teams.

No. You should contact a private supplier or, in an emergency, your municipality. Hydro-Québec may occasionally use industrial generators to meet the needs of the power system and thereby speed up service restoration.

No. But since you don’t use any electricity during an outage, no consumption will be charged for that period.

Despite our efforts to provide a reliable, high-quality electricity service, you may incur damage following an event related to your electricity service or when work is performed on our equipment. That’s why we’ve made a claim form available online. Read the instructions carefully to determine whether you are eligible to file a claim with Hydro-Québec.

Approximately 40% of outages are caused by vegetation coming into contact with power lines, and this percentage rises significantly during severe weather. Our goal is to reduce both the frequency and duration of these outages by 30% between now and 2028, an ambition that entails stepping up the pace of our vegetation control operations around power lines.

This includes increasing such preventive work as selective clearing, brush removal, pruning, and cutting down branches and trees at risk of interfering with our equipment. Public cooperation is essential to mitigating the risks posed by trees growing too close to power lines.

These efforts will continue beyond 2028 with the goal of consistently improving service reliability and quality throughout Québec.

Reinforcing the power system involves substantially increasing our investments in equipment upgrades and replacements. The investments required to enhance the grid’s long-term operability are expected to total between $45 and $50 billion by 2035—an average of $4 to $5 billion per year, nearly double the investments made in system sustainability over the past three years. These efforts are driven by the anticipated impacts of climate change and are aimed at laying a solid foundation that can effectively handle future demand.

To these ends, we will deploy new equipment like composite poles and conductor covers in the distribution system, in addition to adopting innovative practices like the direct, or “light,” burial of power lines.

Hydro-Québec is currently running a series of pilot projects with its customers to test various approaches and technologies that, if proven effective, could eventually be scaled up. These initiatives aim to improve the distribution of electricity use across the grid and provide backup power in the event of an outage. Among the solutions being explored are home energy storage, portable backup batteries, thermal storage heaters, and the gradual resumption of EV charging after a power failure.

In parallel, solutions inspired by the Lac-Mégantic microgrid—which combines solar panels, storage batteries and tools to manage clean and renewable energy that is locally generated—could be deployed in vulnerable areas to further enhance grid reliability.

Each year, we equip the distribution system with more automated devices. By enabling remote operations, these technologies eliminate the need to dispatch crews to the site and help reduce intervention times.

Our next-generation meters also provide a clearer view of the service status at any given moment. During major outages, these tools help us implement the gradual service restoration process in the affected areas—a process designed to prevent the activation of protection mechanisms and avoid equipment failures that could lead to longer outages.

Lastly, we are installing various devices to prevent animals and birds from coming into contact with our equipment, another cause of outages.

Power Outages tool helps you understand and manage your situation during outages and planned service interruptions.

Ongoing outages map

This interactive map of Québec provides real-time information on ongoing outages. Clicking on each outage brings up the following:

• The time at which service is expected to be restored
• Number of households affected
• Cause of the outage
• Steps being taken to restore service

Map of planned service interruptions

This map shows any upcoming service interruptions scheduled for your address for maintenance or vegetation control purposes.

Verify service status

By completing this short form, you can check the service status at your address or find out if there are any planned interruptions in your area without having to use the map.

Report an outage

You can also use the tool to report an outage, without having to go through customer services, by filling out a form.

In just a few clicks, the Power Outages tool lets you access the same information you would get by calling our customer services, but without having to wait to speak to someone.

Although we make every effort to restore power as quickly as possible, it can be difficult to predict precisely when service will be restored. The times posted are estimates that can vary, especially during major outages.

For more information, go to “Types of outages, possible causes and service restoration times” in these FAQs.

You may also want to download our mobile app to track the service status at your address and be notified of any changes to the estimated service restoration times.

Yes. Hydro-Québec’s mobile app lets you track the service status at any address in real time and receive alerts.

Outages cannot be reported online in the following situations:

• Only part of the building is without power.
• There is intermittent power or frequent outages.
• There is no outage, but you want to report damaged Hydro-Québec equipment.
• No one is currently present in the location affected by the outage.
• A gradual service restoration process is underway at the targeted address.
• A planned service interruption is underway at the targeted address.
• Hydro-Québec was required to interrupt the service at the targeted address (e.g., due to collection procedures related to unpaid bills, vacated premises, etc.).

No. You can report an outage online.

When you call 1 800 790‑2424 and provide your service address, if the outage has already been reported, then the system will tell you when you can expect your service to be restored. You will also be given the option of speaking to a representative if you would like additional information on the outage.

Note: If a situation poses a threat to personal safety or public security (such as a pole on fire or lines that are down), call 911 right away.

For information on an outage, we recommend using the Power Outages tool.

However, it is important to contact our customer services if you see a situation that requires an emergency response, including:

• Hydro-Québec equipment that appears damaged or poses a safety risk
• A utility pole that looks as though it’s about to fall down
• Tree branches coming into contact with power lines

The information you provide is very important and allows us to respond rapidly.

Call 911 immediately if you see a situation that poses a public safety risk or puts lives in danger. Doing so will alert both emergency responders and Hydro-Québec, who can quickly dispatch its crews to the scene.

Below are some of the most common situations:

• Severed power lines
• Power lines within reach (i.e., accessible without a ladder)
• Transformer or utility pole on fire
• Trees or branches in contact with the lines and producing sparks
• Vehicle collision with a pole

Should you witness sabotage or a malicious act toward a Hydro-Québec asset (building, vehicle, equipment or computer hardware), you can report it through the Ouvrons l’œil hotline (1 877 816-1212) or online form.

Never touch or try to move a power line, even with a stick or other object. Keep at least 10 metres away from the power line and call 911 immediately.

Always assume a downed line is live. Stay at least 10 metres away if the line is touching the ground, or at least 3 metres away if it is dangling without coming into contact with another object. If you see that a line has been severed or is on the ground, call 911 immediately.

No, under no circumstances. Only providers accredited by Hydro-Québec are authorized to carry out work on the Hydro-Québec system or meters.

Call 911 in the event of a fire or if somebody’s life is in danger.

If the situation presents no immediate danger, use the online form, Report a potential hazard involving vegetation near power lines, or visit our Contact us page for important notices and to find out how to reach us.

In the event of a flood, if you’re sure the water has not yet started coming into your basement, then cut the power to the whole house to prevent any risk of fire or electrocution. This is what to do:

1. Make sure you aren’t standing on a wet floor and are not touching anything made of metal.
2. Using your left hand, flip the main breaker off.

If water has started coming into the basement, don’t touch anything! Call Hydro-Québec immediately at 1 800 790‑2424 to have the service cut at the meter or nearest utility pole.