Hydro One crews have nearly finished rebuilding a 13 km stretch of hydro line destroyed by the Northwestern Ontario forest fire

TORONTO, July 15, 2011 /CNW/ - Hydro One crews have nearly rebuilt a stretch of 80 hydro poles destroyed by a devastating forest fire in Northwestern Ontario, 90 kilometres north of Ear Falls, and expect to restore power before Monday, July 18.

The fire caused severe damage to a section of Hydro One's transmission line. Power is expected to be restored this weekend, following several days of intensive restoration efforts by more than 80 Hydro One lines staff and support personnel.

"We expect to restore power to the rebuilt line section earlier than expected, following tremendous effort from Hydro One crews and from the Ministry of Natural Resource's fire suppression support, as well as support from the surrounding communities," said Gordon Caul, Distribution Superintendant for provincial lines in Northwestern Ontario.

Hydro One crews worked closely with the Ministry of Natural Resources to ensure the safety of all personnel.  Reconstruction began on Wednesday, July 13, and 80 lines staff and support personnel continue to work tirelessly to rebuild a 13 km line of hydro poles which were damaged or destroyed by the fire.

Power is expected to be restored before Monday to all 630 Hydro One customers, barring any changes in the wind or weather. Customers affected by the fire live in communities including Slate Falls, Cat Lake, Mishkeegogamang and Pickle Lake.

For the most recent information on power outages customers can go to:  www.HydroOne.com. Photos of the restoration effort are now available online at https://picasaweb.google.com/HydroOneNetworks.

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.