Over 1 million Hydro-Québec customers lost power during the April 2023 ice storm. Now, some Quebec households who lost food as a result can claim up to $300 in compensation from the government.
Over 660,000 Hydro-Québec customers still had no power as of 9:30 a.m. Friday, almost two days after a freezing rain storm battered the province. Just over half (340,532) of the remaining households without power were in Montreal.
Hydro-Québec is scrambling to restore power to over 1 million customers provincewide after Wednesday's freezing rain storm felled trees and brought down power lines. In Montreal alone, there were 483,875 customers without electricity as of 7 a.m. Thursday.
Despite fallen trees, slippery streets and a mass loss of electricity, Quebec has so far made it through the freezing rain storm without any "major emergency," according to Public Security Minister François Bonnardel. Officials are nevertheless urging caution and common sense.