Archives

Hydro One makes headway in power restoration efforts; power restored to 35,000 customers

December 2, 2006 — Hydro One confirms that power has now been restored to more 35,000 customers. Approximately 55,000 customers are without power, predominantly in 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 initial restoration efforts.

Four helicopters, approximately 750 Hydro One field staff from across the Province, as well as crews from other utilities worked throughout the day assessing damage, prioritizing work and undertaking necessary repair work.

Due to the nature and extent of damage to the power distribution system, some customers will remain without power overnight and into Sunday. Repair work to be conducted in more remote and inaccessible areas is likely to result in other customers being without power into the early week.

"While we made good progress today restoring power to our customers, there is still much work to be done," said Myles D'Arcey, Senior Vice President, Customer Operations, Hydro One. "Fewer daylight hours are available to us in the winter, impacting restoration efforts, however emergency crews will work through the night and we will continue to deploy available resources to carry out much needed restoration work."

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.

-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.