Hydro One restores power to 45,000 customers; 130,000 remain without power

TORONTO, April 29 /CNW/ - Yesterday's violent weather has caused widespread damage to Hydro One's electricity distribution system. Hydro One's efforts have restored power to 45,000 customers but there is still much work to be done. The broken poles, damaged and downed lines caused by fallen trees and high winds have left 130,000 Hydro One customers still without power today.

"Yesterday's wind storm caused considerable damage to our system," said Myles D'Arcey, Senior Vice-President, Customer Operations. "One of the big challenges of this storm is the large number of individual incidents to repair."

Restoration efforts will take several days due to the volume of damage in many different locations. Hydro One will keep the media and customers up to date on progress and estimated times of restoration.

More than 1,000 Hydro One employees including line maintainers, foresters and apprentices are working to safely restore power. Four helicopters are patrolling lines, assessing damage and bringing in equipment and workers to hard to reach areas. Staff from other local distribution companies are aiding the effort to get the lights back on for Hydro One customers.

Some of the major areas affected by power outages are listed below:

Area Impacted Number of Hydro One
Customers Affected
Arnprior 7,700
Bancroft 11,600
Bowmanville 326
Brockville 4,800
Cobden 5,700
Dundas 3,000
Fenelon Falls 2,800
Kingston 4,600
Lincoln 1,200
Minden 2,700
Perth 12,900
Peterborough 17,500
Simcoe 7,800
Trenton 2,700
Tweed 15,300
Vankleek Hill 700
Winchester 2,300

For the most recent information on power outages customers can go to:  www.HydroOne.com. Follow us on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/HydroOne.

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.

Hydro One delivers electricity safely, reliably and responsibly to homes and businesses across the province of Ontario and owns and operates Ontario's 29,000 km high-voltage transmission network that delivers electricity to large industrial customers and municipal utilities, and a 123,000 km 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.

 

For further information:

contact Hydro One Media Relations 24 hours a day at 1-877-506-7584 (toll-free in Ontario only) or 416-345-6868. Our website is www.HydroOne.com.