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Hydro One restores power to 40,000 customers since Friday morning

March 2, 2007 — Hydro One confirms that it has now restored power to 40,000, or half of, customers affected by ongoing winter storm conditions affecting the Bruce Peninsula and southwestern and eastern Ontario. Approximately 40,000 Hydro One customers were without power as of late Friday afternoon. Mixed and volatile weather and hazardous road conditions and closures hampered the company's restoration efforts in the areas most affected by the storm.

The storm system that made its way across parts of the province in the past 24 hours brought a combination of snow, freezing rain, high and gusting winds and resulted in more than 400 downed poles, wires, and trees and saw approximately 80,000 Hydro One customers lose power at the storm's peak.

Approximately 700 Hydro One's highly mobile field staff, as well as 50 staff from 10 Local Distribution Companies (LDCs) and additional contract staff are supporting the clean-up effort. As these crews complete work in one part of the province, they will then be redeployed to the next area, until necessary repair work is complete.

While the company anticipates this focused restoration effort will see the vast majority of customers' power restored by the end of weekend, it is expected that the nature and extent of storm damage in the Clinton and Walkerton areas could remain without power until early next week.

"We recognize that power outages, particularly in the winter months, present significant challenges to our customers and local communities," said Myles D'Arcey, Senior Vice President, Customer Operations, Hydro One. "We will continue to work tirelessly to restore power and appreciate the patience and support our customers and communities continue to extend us."

Areas Most Impacted Number of Hydro One Customers Affected

Reducing Power Useage Can Help
Following a significant power outage, customers can help ensure that power is fully and reliably restored more quickly by reducing their power consumption. Conserving energy can help the overall restoration effort by reducing pressure on the system.

Important Safety Information for Customers
Hydro One strongly advises customers to continue 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.

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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. Our website is www.HydroOne.com.