Newsroom

TORONTO, April 12, 2013 /CNW/ - Freezing rain and high winds have caused widespread damage to Hydro One's electricity distribution system across Ontario. The storm continued to do damage throughout the day, leaving downed power lines and more than 200 broken poles in its path. Across the province more than 150,000 Hydro One customers are without power.

Hydro One is moving crews from areas not affected by the storm to the hardest-hit areas to support the effort to return service to our customers. Hydro One is also requesting assistance from other local distribution companies in Ontario to aide in the restoration efforts.

Crews have been hampered by treacherous driving conditions but will continue to work to restore power throughout the evening.  High winds have grounded Hydro One's helicopters, but crews are on standby to help with restoration once flying conditions improve.

We ask our customers for their continued patience as our Customer Communications Centre is currently experiencing a high volume of calls due to the extent of the storm damage.

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

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.

SOURCE: Hydro One Inc.