Some 8,000 Pontiac homes are still without power after severe winds swept the region on Friday evening. 

As of 10:00 a.m. on Saturday morning, 43 outages were still unresolved between Sheenboro and Luskville. 

In an email, Hydro-Québec spokesperson Annie Beaudoin said  67,231 customers across the province were affected by the outages at their peak, 10,100 of which were in the Pontiac.  

In a statement on its website, Hydro-Québec said outages were caused by wind gusts reaching up to 90 km/h in some areas. 

Beaudoin said trees have fallen on power lines at several locations across the Pontiac. 

On Friday evening, the Hydro-Québec website said power in many locations would be restored by 7 p.m., but that estimate has since changed several times. As of 11:30 a.m. Saturday morning, Hydro-Québec’s website estimated power would be restored to most homes between noon and 5 p.m.

Beaudoin said following a power outage, Hydro-Quebec’s system provides an estimated average restoration time, but that once crews arrive at the location of the outage, this estimate is reevaluated. 

“It can also happen that, during repairs, another obstruction is detected that requires more extensive work,” she said explaining why power restoration estimates are often changing.

She said more than 140 crews have been deployed across the province to restore service to customers, though the utility provider did not provide a number for how many were working in the Pontiac region specifically.