Newsroom

    TORONTO, Jan. 10 /CNW/ - Hydro One crews working to restore electricity
to communities affected by yesterday's wind storm have returned power to
68,000 customers; across the province, 72,000 are still without power.
    Severe winds gusting up to 100 km/hr that moved across parts of the
province yesterday knocked out power to 140,000 customers in communities
throughout southern and eastern Ontario.
    More than 1,100 Hydro One employees, including foresters, line
maintainers, technicians and engineers are working to repair the damage caused
by the severe winter wind storm. The Company has also secured additional
support from a number of local utilities. There are a significant number of
downed and broken poles and a large number of trees that need to be cleared.
In some areas restoration efforts are being hampered by roads blocked by trees
or impassable roads as a result of flooding.
    With the work effort underway, the Company plans to restore power to the
majority of the customers currently without power over the next 24 hours,
however it anticipates that customers in remote and hard to reach places could
remain without power into the weekend.The most impacted areas include:

    ---------------------------------------------
    Areas Most Impacted      Number of Hydro One
                              Customers Affected
    ---------------------------------------------
    Bracebridge                           14,800
    ---------------------------------------------
    Orillia                                  850
    ---------------------------------------------
    Parry Sound                            3,900
    ---------------------------------------------
    Penetang                               3,000
    ---------------------------------------------
    Huntsville                            13,600
    ---------------------------------------------
    Minden                                 8,600
    ---------------------------------------------
    Tweed                                  1,800
    ---------------------------------------------
    Bancroft                              12,500
    ---------------------------------------------
    Cobden                                 1,500
    ---------------------------------------------
    Kingston                                 600
    ---------------------------------------------
    Brockville                             3,100
    ---------------------------------------------
    Arnprior                               1,100
    ---------------------------------------------
    Perth                                  2,100
    ---------------------------------------------
    Nipissing                              1,800
    ---------------------------------------------"At first light this morning we had more than 1,100 workers in the field
working to get the lights back on. Our crews are among the best in the
business at power restoration and are used to working safely in the most
challenging conditions," said Myles D'Arcey, Senior Vice President, Customer
Operations, Hydro One. "While we have made great progress we know we still
have much work to do. We thank our customers for their patience and support as
we work to get their lights back on."

    Important Safety Information

    Hydro One strongly urges people to take extra precaution near fallen
power lines. Even if a fallen wire seems dead, it can be dangerous. People are
urged to report to Hydro One the location of the fallen wires as soon as
possible. Touching a vehicle that is in contact with a power line can be
fatal.

    Restoring Power to Customers with Customer-Owned Equipment

    Hydro One advises customers that their privately-owned electrical
equipment may have sustained damage in this week's storm. If you know that
your customer-owned equipment is damaged, you will need to hire a qualified
electrical contractor to undertake necessary repair work who will then arrange
for the required ESA inspection and Hydro One reconnection to restore your
power.
    For the most recent information on power outages go to
www.HydroOneNetworks.com.

    Hydro One delivers electricity safely, reliably and responsibly to homes
and businesses across the province of Ontario and owns and operates Ontario's
28,000 kilometre high-voltage transmission network that delivers electricity
to large industrial customers and municipal utilities, and a 125,000 kilometre
low-voltage distribution system that serves about 1.3 million end-use
customers and smaller municipal utilities in the province. Hydro One is wholly
owned by the Province of Ontario.