Quebec ice storm: Why it’s impossible to storm-proof the power grid
The ice storm that left an estimated 155,000 Quebecers in the dark this weekend had echoes of the Great Ice Storm of 1998, which left millions of homes in Eastern Canada without electricity for weeks.
This time, power was restored relatively quickly – within 12 hours for the majority of Quebecers – which reflects some of the lessons hydro-electricity producers have taken from the 1998 blackout to make their power grids more reliable.
At the same time, however, they have also resisted some of the more costly ideas from the Great Ice Storm, such as retrofitting entire cities with underground cables.
“I think the industry recognizes that perfect reliability is unaffordable,” says Tom Adams, an independent adviser and researcher in the energy sector.
Current estimates are that it would cost five to 10 times more to distribute electricity to a big city via underground cables, and that not all of nature’s problems would be alleviated even if that were done.
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