Newsroom
TORONTO, June 9, 2011 /CNW/ - Yesterday's severe thunderstorms caused widespread damage to Hydro One's electricity distribution system. The high winds and falling trees broke more than 300 poles and damaged and downed many lines. Hydro One has restored power to 40,000 customers but there is still much work to be done. More than 110,000 Hydro One customers remain without power today.
"The severe thunderstorms 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 1,300 Hydro One employees including line maintainers, foresters, assessors and apprentices are working safely to restore power as quickly as possible. Hydro One is also reaching out to other local utilities for additional assistance. Six helicopters are helping in the restoration efforts by patrolling lines, assessing damage and bringing in equipment and workers to hard to reach areas.
Some of the major areas affected by power outages are listed below:
|
Area Impacted |
Number of Hydro One Customers Affected |
| Bancroft | 10,000 |
| Bracebridge | 3,000 |
| Brockville | 9,700 |
| Clinton | 1,500 |
| Fenelon Falls | 10,000 |
| Kingston | 12,000 |
| Minden | 1,800 |
| Newmarket | 2,200 |
| Orillia | 1,900 |
| Perth | 2,000 |
| Picton | 2,300 |
| Penetang | 5,400 |
| Peterborough | 18,000 |
| Tweed | 22,000 |
For the most recent information on power outages customers can go to: www.HydroOne.com. You can also 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.
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
