CALEB NICKERSON
ALLUMETTE ISLAND Jan. 10, 2018
Over the past few years, Allumette Island and the surrounding municipalities have developed a reputation for sub-par hydro service. So much so that local farmer David Gillespie has been monitoring the number and duration of the power outages since 2009.
Back in June of 2016, a long outage was followed by a massive surge several days later and brought the issue to a head. Local officials formed a special committee to address the issues with Hydro Quebec once and for all. The committee met with Hydro Quebec officials in September 2016 and repairs were made, which seemed to improve things.
Despite this, 2016 concluded as one of the worst years on Gillespie’s books, with 75 outages recorded, totalling over 4,000 minutes.
With 58 outages totalling 784 minutes in 2017, things are looking up but Gillespie remains cautious.
“The data is improving, but it’s still not acceptable. We still had 58 outages for the year. If you had that in Montreal, there would be a riot,” he said, noting that November 2017 was the worst November on record, with 13 outages.
He added that even though the overall outage time is decreasing, the sheer frequency of the outages still severely impedes the scope of his farm operation.
“I can’t go into modern equipment, especially a greenhouse operation with very sensitive equipment,” he said. “I’m not doing it until I can get good hydro.”
His frustrations and guarded optimism are shared by Allumette Island Mayor Winston Sunstrom.
“The hydro service has improved, it’s noticeable. We still have some issues to work out in terms of shorter outages,” he said, adding that even brief electrical interruptions can reset computer systems and are major headaches for local business.
He said municipal officials had a conference call with representatives from Hydro Quebec on Dec. 18 and have another at the end of this month, where they will discuss ongoing improvements and issues.
“I’m optimistic that they’re taking us seriously, that they have made improvements and they’re planning to make more,” he said. “So, we’ll be looking for ongoing communications with them.”
