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HYDRO ONE POWER RESTORATION ALMOST COMPLETE IN NORTHWEST FOLLOWING MAJOR STORM

TORONTO, June 14, 2002 - Despite more rain and possible thunderstorms, lines and forestry crews from Hydro One and local utilities have almost completed power restoration in the Kenora area after a severe storm battered the Ontario northwest Monday night.

About 250 customers, predominately in isolated, sparsely populated areas will be without electricity Friday night. Most of these outages are a result of damage to customer-owned equipment which is repaired by local electrical contractors.

"I'm very proud of the tremendous efforts our staff have made this week," explained Tom Parkinson, Hydro One Network Services President and CEO. "They have worked flat-out in some terrible conditions to get power back to our customers as quickly as possible."

The storm, which unleashed tornado-force winds over 100 kilometres-per-hour and torrential rain, caused widespread flooding and damage to the electricity distribution system in the Kenora, Fort Frances and Dryden areas. Over 15,000 customers lost power late Monday. Kenora was hit hardest with over 11,000 customers affected.

Restoration efforts have been going around the clock since early Tuesday, and involved five helicopters and over 150 Hydro One staff from right across northern Ontario, as well as local utility crews. These efforts were hampered significantly by washed out roads that prevented crews from accessing damaged equipment in remote, rocky, rugged terrain.

Damage was so significant that Hydro One forestry staff estimate cleanup of downed trees will take a month, requiring a significant number of planned power interruptions to complete the work safely.

Customers are advised that repairs to their services by contractors must be approved by the Electrical Safety Authority before Hydro One can re-energize their lines.

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For further information, please contact:

Hydro One Media Relations
1-877-506-7584