Archives

Hydro One clearing lines in Lighthouse Cove area to improve supply reliability

October 12, 2006 — Hydro One is conducting extensive forestry and power line right-of-way clearing in the Lighthouse Cove area in Lakeshore Township to improve electricity delivery reliability. The project began October 10 and is scheduled for completion October 14.

Hydro One spends over $100 million annually on forestry and line clearing projects across the province. Its goal is to get back to a six-year clearing cycle for all lines, and customers should see a decline in the number and frequency of tree-related outages.

"Trees pose a significant threat to power lines, particularly in poor weather conditions such as high winds and freezing rain, so this program should significantly reduce unplanned power outages and improve supply reliability in the area," explained Hydro One Forestry Manager Grant Clark. "We remove only those branches and hazardous trees that pose a threat to our system, and every effort will be made to leave compatible low-growing vegetation untouched."

Over the past five years Hydro One has invested about $4.5 billion in capital projects and maintenance to sustain and upgrade its high-voltage transmission and low-voltage distribution systems throughout the province. It plans to invest an additional $5.5 billion in system maintenance and upgrades over the next five years.

Hydro One delivers electricity safely, reliably and responsibly to homes and businesses across the province of Ontario and owns and operates Ontario's 28,000 kilometre high-voltage transmission network that delivers electricity to large industrial customers and municipal utilities, and a 125,000 kilometre 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.

-30-

For more information and to make arrangements for photography, 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.