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Power restored to 90% of Hydro One customers; restoration efforts continue into the evening

December 3, 2006 — Hydro One confirms that power has now been restored to more than 81,000 of its customers and expects to have power returned to most of the remaining 9,000 customers, predominantly in Eastern Ontario, by later today.

Two storms fronts that brought a combination of snow, freezing rain, high and gusting winds causing significant number of downed power lines and poles, saw more than 90,000 Hydro One customers lose power at the storm's peak.

Restoration efforts will continue into the evening and the company estimates that approximately 1,000 customers may remain without power overnight; largely in remote areas and at water access properties. A concentrated restoration effort in these areas will continue Monday utilizing 750 Hydro One's highly mobile field staffs.

"As the weekend draws to an end, we get closer and closer to completing restoration work for our remaining impacted customers," said Myles D'Arcey, Senior Vice President, Customer Operations, Hydro One. "Crews from across the province continue to converge on the most affected areas and will not be released until we can be sure that all the remaining restoration work is complete."

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.