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Power Restored to 20,000 customers; Restoration efforts underway

December 2, 2006 — Hydro One confirms that power has now been restored to more 20,000 customers. Approximately 70,000 customers are without power currently in South and Eastern Ontario as a result of severe winter weather Friday and early Saturday. Two storms fronts that brought a combination of snow, freezing rain, high and gusting winds resulted in a significant number of downed power lines and poles and hampered restoration efforts over the past 24 hours.

Emergency crews worked throughout the night and additional crews are being mobilized and deployed to most impacted areas.
Four helicopters and more than 500 field staff from across the province will continue to assess damage and restore power throughout the day. However, it expected that due to the nature and extent of system damage, some customers in the harder hit and more remote areas may remain without power into the early week.

"We fully recognize the pressing need to restore power to customers as quickly and safely as we possibly can during the winter months so our restoration efforts are well underway and will remain our highest priority," said Myles D'Arcey, Senior Vice President, Customer Operations, Hydro One. "We will, as we always do, work flat out to restore power to our customers as fast as we possibly can."

Power restoration status in the most affected areas:

Important Safety Information for Customers

Hydro One strongly advises customers to take extra precaution should they discover fallen power lines on their properties. Even if a fallen wire is not sparking, it may still be energized and dangerous. People are urged to report to Hydro One the location of the fallen wires as soon as possible.

Restoring Power to Customers with Customer-Owned Equipment

Hydro One advises customers that their privately-owned electrical equipment may have sustained damage in this week's storm. If you know that your customer-owned equipment is damaged, you will need to hire a qualified electrical contractor to undertake necessary repair work who will then arrange for the required ESA inspection and Hydro One reconnection to restore your power.

For the most recent information on power outages go to: www.HydroOneNetworks.com/outages

Hydro One owns and operates Ontario's 28,400 kilometre high-voltage transmission network that delivers electricity to large industrial customers and municipal utilities, and a 122,000 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.

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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.