JOSHUA ALLAN
The 1510 West

A letter sent by Beaconsfield Mayor Georges Bourelle calling for Hydro-Québec to implement measures to prevent power outages has been received, the Crown corporation has confirmed. But the response from the utility may not be everything the mayor had hoped for. 

Bourelle sent a letter to Hydro-Québec CEO Michael Sabia earlier this summer, proposing both short- and long-term solutions for Hydro to pursue in order to decrease the number of power outages in Beaconsfield.

In the short term, he requested the utility work with the municipality to increase the frequency of tree trimming around power lines, aimed at curbing potential outage-causing accidents.

In the long term, he suggested Hydro come up with a plan to bury its power lines – a project Bourelle has called for in the past.

While Hydro agrees with increased tree maintenance, burying the power lines would be a far-too-expensive step, Jonathan Laporte, a community relations adviser with Hydro, told The 1510 West.

The organization is taking steps to increase its vegetation control and has earmarked $130 million in its yearly budget for the West Island.

In June, the Coalition Avenir Québec government granted Hydro the right to enter private properties to clear any vegetation encroaching on power lines. This can be done without the property owners’ knowledge or consent.

Bourelle told The 1510 West that he was surprised to hear that Hydro had been given such power, saying that he disagrees with the organization’s authority to “indiscriminately fell trees” without at least working with municipalities.

Removing Beaconsfield’s tree canopy without consent is not an option, he said, adding: “We are very proud of our tree canopy. It has all kinds of advantages in terms of cooling, absorbing carbon dioxide, all the things that a tree canopy does. It makes people want to live in Beaconsfield.”

His letter to Sabia describes the canopy as a “jewel” that makes “a major contribution to reducing greenhouse gases in the global fight we must all wage to counter global warming.”

In terms of burying the power lines, Laporte explained that such a project is not something Hydro is considering, given the high price tag. He pegged the price of building and maintaining underground power lines anywhere between four to 10 times more expensive than above-ground networks.

The process for repair work on underground networks is far more complex than overhead networks, Laporte added.

Bourelle, however, has been adamant that the benefits would outweigh the cost. He said that even a piecemeal plan to bury lines done over time would be better than no plan at all.

“This choice is all the more responsible in that, in addition to guaranteeing quality of life and peace of mind for the entire population, it will limit intervention in our urban forest,” Bourelle wrote in his letter.

“We understand that the costs of such an improvement are high, but they will guarantee, in a sustainable and environmentally-friendly way, the reliability of the network itself and, as a result, that of the power supply to the 7,000 properties in Beaconsfield.”