Gradual service restoration

Is the power back on at your neighbour’s house but not at yours? Your address is likely affected by the gradual service restoration process.

Gradual service restoration in a nutshell!

This video covers the basics of gradual service restoration. Find out why this process is essential to prevent equipment failures and more outages.

1 minute 40 seconds

What to expect

When a long‑term outage occurs, Hydro‑Québec may have to extend the service interruption in some areas, and that’s why some of your neighbours may have their power back, but you don’t. An extended service interruption can last from 30 minutes to 5 hours. The locations are chosen based on criteria such as:

  • Temperature
  • Duration of the outage
  • Capacity of the transformer that’s affected and the number of addresses it serves

Hydro‑Québec invests every effort to limit the number of times an address is affected by the gradual service restoration process.

The advantages of the process

Extending the period during which the load is distributed between the equipment avoids tripping the protection mechanisms and prevents equipment failures on the grid.

It’s important to remember that:

Extending a service interruption at some addresses can help prevent secondary outages that could affect more households.

In winter 2023‑2024, we were able to prevent more than 41 long-term secondary outages, which could have resulted in an extended service interruption affecting more than 500 addresses.

Simple ways to help Hydro‑Québec during the service restoration process

Reducing your energy use when the power comes back on will make it easier to restore power in your neighbourhood.

Postpone the use of major appliances

Turn off appliances that were on when the outage occurred and wait a while before restarting them.

Turn down the heat for the first few hours

Lower the set temperature to a minimum and raise it gradually.

Try not to use hot water

Wait before turning on the washer or dishwasher or taking a shower or bath.

Charge your EV later

Unplug your EV so it doesn’t start charging as soon as the power is restored.

Find out when service is expected to be restored at your address

Is your area affected by the gradual service restoration process? Check the outages map to track the service status at your address and find out when service is expected to be restored.

Track the restoration time