With Montreal in the grips of yet another winter cold snap, it appears Hydro-Quebec is proceeding with maintenance-related power cuts.
On Wednesday, the power cuts left hundreds in the cold while tempratures climbed no higher than -14°C.
Carol, a Pierrefonds resident, contacted CJAD 800 via YourStory to report she had to leave her house late Wednesday morning because it was simply too cold — down to 15°C. A reading in her basement, she says, was around 7°C.
She says the power went off at 7:50 a.m. Wednesday, and wasn't restored until 1:20 p.m.
"I wish they would consider people with infants at home, kids at home...and seniors," she says. "Why couldn't they wait for a day when it was a little bit warmer?"
But Hydro-Quebec spokesperson Maxence Huade-Lefebvre says the work in Carol's area was to remove a broken tree, and that the work was urgent, and necessary — and added that in those kinds of situations, the utility does a calculation, to make sure clients don't drop below 17 or 18 degrees.
She says some of her neighbours have reduced mobility, and are being forced to withstand the cold.
-CJAD 800's Richard Deschamps contributed to this report.