TORONTO, May 9, 2018 /CNW/ - Hydro One employees have worked as quickly and as safely as possible to restore power to over 577,000 customers affected by the severe wind storm that began on May 4. Customers in southern, central and eastern Ontario were affected by fierce wind gusts that in some areas reached approximately 120 km/h taking down trees, power lines and other critical equipment in its path.
This is the third weather event in the last six weeks to affect a large number of Hydro One's customers and with this being Emergency Preparedness Week in Ontario, Hydro One wants to remind customers that a storm could strike at any time.
"We want to thank our customers for their patience while their power was being restored," said Greg Kiraly, Chief Operating Officer, Hydro One. "The magnitude of damage from this dramatic storm was the worst we have seen in nearly five years. Thanks to the long hours and tireless work of our employees and the employees of our neighbouring utilities who answered our call for help, we were able to restore power to our valued customers in record time."
Restoration time after a storm has decreased dramatically since the company implemented a new storm prediction tool that provides real-time forecasts for storm intensity, duration and area of impact. This allows the positioning of crews in key areas in the predicted path of the storm which in turn reduces response times for customers. If there are any customers still without power that have not reported it, please call 1-800-434-1235 so a crew can be dispatched.
"While Hydro One is doing everything we can to restore power quickly, emergency kits can help ensure that customers are prepared for an extended outage," added Kiraly. "Given the recent storms, chances are that your family's kit needs to be replenished."
Here is a check list of what should be included in a 72-hour emergency preparedness kit:
- Water (2L per person per day)
- Canned or dried food that won't spoil
- Food and water for pets
- Manual can opener
- Windup or battery-powered flashlight and radio
- Batteries for flashlight and radio
- Power bank for cell phones
- Cash
- Any medical items required
- Blanket
- Candles and matches
- First aid kit
- Emergency numbers including Hydro One's power outage hotline, 1-800-434-1235
Customers should also sign up for text or email outage alerts at HydroOne.com/MyAccount or by calling 1-888-664-9376. This ensures that the latest information on the outage affecting your property is sent directly to you.
About Hydro One Inc.:
Hydro One Inc. is a fully owned subsidiary of Hydro One Limited, Ontario's largest electricity transmission and distribution provider with more than 1.3 million valued customers, $25 billion in assets and 2017 annual revenues of nearly $6 billion. Our team of over 7,400 skilled and dedicated regular and non-regular employees proudly and safely serves suburban, rural and remote communities across Ontario through our 30,000 circuit km of high-voltage transmission and 123,000 circuit km of primary distribution networks. Hydro One is committed to the communities we serve, and has been rated as the top utility in Canada for its corporate citizenship, sustainability, and diversity initiatives. We are one of only five utility companies in Canada to achieve the Sustainable Energy Company designation from the Canadian Electricity Association. We also provide advanced broadband telecommunications services on a wholesale basis utilizing our extensive fibre optic network. Hydro One Limited's common shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: H).
SOURCE Hydro One Inc.
