Power's back but questions remain. What can we learn from the Quebec ice storm for next time?

The ice storm that paralyzed Quebec and shut off power to much of the province earlier this month has now, officially, ended. The last customers affected by the storm were reconnected to the grid this week, Hydro-Québec said. 

But we asked you if you had any questions about the storm, the outages or the aftermath. You sent us your queries and we've answered them. 

Here are your questions, answered:

Hydro-Québec makes that call. The company says it prioritizes outages that pose an imminent risk to public safety. That means it hurries to get power back to hospitals and other emergency services. 

Hydro-Québec also says it tries to address outages that affect large numbers of people first. So if the utility has to choose between an outage that affects 1,000 people, or one that affects 10, they'll rewire the former first. 

Next on its priority level is what Hydro-Québec calls "strategic" priorities. That includes restoring service to media outlets, for example, and other urgent public communications services, so people can get information during crisis events. 

Third, Hydro-Québec says it tries to get power back to "critical" priorities, including CHSLDs, clinics and other public services. Finally, at the bottom of the company's priority list are residences and commercial buildings. 

Ultimately, however, these priorities could change, Hydro-Québec says, "depending on the situation, the specific needs of a municipality or the requirement of public security officials."

Quebec's auditor general raised some concerns about the state of Hydro-Québec's network in a report in December. 

The report flagged that outages were becoming more frequent in Quebec and were lasting longer in part because of the utility's aging equipment, but also because Hydro-Québec had fallen behind on trimming back vegetation near wires. 

You can read more about that here: 

At the time, Hydro-Québec acknowledged that as infrastructure ages, it becomes more likely to fail and becomes more vulnerable to high winds and other inclement weather such as freezing rain — events that are expected to become more common due to climate change. 

The auditor general's report criticized Hydro-Québec for inadequately investing in protecting its lines from tree growth. 

Hydro-Québec said two things were keeping its crews busy and slowing preventive maintenance: an increase in severe weather events and an increase in connection requests, which the company is required to respond to.