Thunderstorms and strong winds in the U.S. Northeast - 25 Hydro-Québec crews en route to Rhode Island

MONTRÉAL, Aug. 5, 2015 /CNW Telbec/ - Some 60 Hydro-Québec employees, including 50 line workers as well as technical and logistics personnel, are currently en route to Rhode Island.

The U.S. utility National Grid has asked Hydro-Québec to send crews to lend a hand to its personnel following severe thunderstorms that hit the State of Rhode Island last Tuesday, causing major damage to the power grid. A convoy of 25 trucks left Québec Wednesday evening, and the Hydro-Québec crews will be deployed in the field on Thursday.

These crews come from different regions of Québec (Montréal, Laurentides, Montérégie and Chaudière-Appalaches), which means that Hydro-Québec will have sufficient staff on hand to meet its own customers' needs.

As a member of the North Atlantic Mutual Assistance Group,Hydro-Québec provides help to neighboring utilities during emergencies and obtains their help when needed.

The last major aid mission to the United States dates back to January 2015, when a winter storm hit the Eastern Seaboard. At that time, Hydro-Québec dispatched some 50 crews to the Greater Boston area, in Massachusetts, to participate in the recovery effort.

SOURCE Hydro-Québec

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