There were more power outages in Montreal’s Notre-Dame-de-Grâce neighbourhood Wednesday, with even more possibly coming in the next few days. Hydro-Québec says it is working to upgrade and strengthen the grid. Workers are on the ground replacing transformer boxes to almost double the voltage capacity. “Over the weekend, we did the repairs. When we turn the power back on and so much of the heating is starting at the same time in all of the different homes, it put a really intense stress on our grid and some of the transformers actually blew up," says Hydro-Québec spokesperson Jonathan Côté. However, some residents who finally got their power back after 72 hours are finding their problems are far from over. Côté says part of the reason the outages lasted so long is that Hydro-Québec had to restore power slowly and in sections. The interim borough mayor says that information should have been communicated sooner. “It didn’t allow for individual families to make the best decisions for themselves. We found out too late that the establishment of the service would happen at a later date on Saturday," says Sonny Moroz. Hydro-Québec says it will review its communication strategy, but the situation kept changing as it worked to restore power. “We don’t know at the beginning, a clear picture of everything that’s going to happen and what order," says Côté. Two people died in their homes during the outage. Neighbours believe poor communication was a factor. The coroner has opened an investigation. In the meantime, some residents are still in the cold. Jonathan St-Pierre told CTV News that when power was restored, his radiator blew and spewed oily black water all over his kitchen. “Everybody in the neighborhood has pipes bursting and problems as well. So we’re expecting a few days at least," said the Côte Saint-Luc resident. His landlord Rosa Molinaro lives across the street and also has damage in her home. She says she’s scrambling to do the repairs. "I did file a claim with our insurance company, and I just re-read the email and they will be in contact with us in a few days. Clearly that’s not adequate. So I’m going to have to take measures in my own hands. And I’m really not quite sure where to tap into to get this resolved properly at a reasonable price," she says. St-Pierre says after spending three nights in a hotel already, he’s considering moving out until the damage is fixed.
