QUEBEC CITY - Hydro-Quebec, North America's largest electricity producer, confirmed Wednesday it is being sued for $316 million by 22 insurance companies for the unreliability of its power network during a massive ice storm that paralyzed much of the the province in early 1998.

The insurers, which launched the suit Tuesday, said that not only bad weather was to blame for the damages, but also the power network configuration of the provincially owned utility, its inadequate maintenance, its technical weaknesses as well as human errors.

During the storm, the weight of the ice crushed transmission towers and brought down power lines across southern Quebec, including Montreal, the province's biggest city. In all, almost half of Quebec's 7.4 million people were left without power for three days in January 1998. Some areas near Montreal did not see the lights come back on for a month.

Among the insurers involved in the lawsuits are Canadian firms Nordique Belair & Commerce and AXA Assurances, which are respectively claiming C$67 million and $62 million from Hydro-Quebec.

We had been expecting that for a while. The lawsuits are part of the game nowadays, Hydro-Quebec spokesman Nicolas told Reuters.

He refused to comment further on the suits because the matter is now before the courts.

In the lawsuits, the companies said utilities in the northeastern United States did not lose a single power line during the same ice storm, while Hydro-Quebec lost 22.