We are excited to announce that our project, Lights Out: Examining Power Outages and Vulnerability Across Quebec, has been selected for funding under the Convergent Research Themes Program from McGill’s Computational and Data Systems Initiative. Lead by Professors Grant McKenzie and Mylène Riva, this funding will enable our team to undertake research into the patterns and impacts of power outages across Quebec, with a focus on uncovering inequities in energy access and resilience.

As extreme weather events become more frequent and more severe, power outages are expected to rise, disproportionately affecting vulnerable populations. Using high-resolution outage data, our research will combine health geography, spatial data science, and energy studies to examine how factors such as socioeconomic status, demographics, and geographic location intersect with energy access during outages. We will explore a variety of traditional spatial analysis as well as GeoAI techniques with the objective of identifying communities most at risk and providing insights to address energy inequities.

This funding will also allow us to involve undergraduate researchers in the project, equipping them with skills in advanced spatial analysis and data science. The results of this preliminary study will lay the foundation for future projects in this theme and inform strategies to build more equitable energy systems. More updates on the project as we progress.