Two separate electrical outages left thousands of customers without power on Tuesday in several areas of Montreal.
Hydro-Québec confirmed that approximately 11,500 customers in downtown Montreal, Westmount, and the Sud-Ouest borough were affected by the first outage, which was caused by a gas leak. Power was cut at the request of public safety officials to allow emergency crews to safely respond to the situation.
Hydro-Québec spokesperson Chloé Masson told CityNews that power was expected to be restored by 7:30 p.m., but warned the timeline could change.
A second outage, affecting about 4,000 customers, was reported in parts of Anjou, St-Léonard, Montreal-Nord, and areas near Galeries d’Anjou.
Hydro-Québec said the outage may have been caused by a transformer fire, but the exact cause is still under investigation. Masson said repair crews were on site and continuing to assess the damage.
No estimate for when power would be restored was available as of Tuesday evening.
Hydro-Québec says it will provide updates as more information becomes available.
