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40,000 Hydro One customers still without power

Toronto, November 14, 2003 - About 40,000 Hydro One customers across Ontario are still without power today as crews struggle to repair damaged lines and broken poles. A majority of these customers should have power by late tonight, however some will not have service restored until late Saturday.

Additional damage was caused last night in eastern Ontario. Crews are making their way through affected areas and providing updated estimated times for restoration.

Hardest hit areas are Walkerton, Stayner, Penetang, Barrie, Huntsville, Nipissing/North Bay, Minden, Bancroft and Cobden. Restoration efforts are being hampered in some areas by blowing snow and 60 kilometre/hour winds that are restricting use of helicopters.

At the height of the storm yesterday over 160,000 Hydro One customers were out of power. In terms of impact on customers and Hydro One's distribution system, this is one of the worst storms on record. Hundreds of poles have been snapped, many kilometres of conductor and other electrical equipment such as insulators, switches and transformers have been damaged and broken. Much of this devastation is in off-road, inaccessible locations.

Hydro One has mobilized all available lines and forestry crews and dispatched them to the hard hit areas. Over 2,500 staff have been involved in the restoration effort.

Updates will be provided to media throughout the day.

Hydro One Networks owns and operates the province-wide electricity high voltage transmission network and largest low voltage distribution system in Ontario that serves over one million end-use customers. Hydro One is wholly-owned by the provincial government.

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For more information, contact Hydro One Media Relations 24 hours a day at 1-877-506-7584 (toll-free in Ontario only) or 416-345-6868.