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Hydro One sends crews to Vermont to assist in power restoration

April 17, 2007 — Hydro One is sending approximately 60 power line maintainers and support staff to assist Central Vermont Public Service restoring power to 50,000 customers following severe storm damage this week. The work is expected to last into the weekend.

"Hydro One crews will continue to restore service to our customers in eastern Ontario who were impacted by Monday's storm, and at the same time, we will help our neighbours," explained Myles D'Arcey, Senior Vice-President, Customer Operations. "We have mutual assistance agreements with U.S. utilities, we help them when they need it, and they'll assist us when we're in need."

The crews going to Vermont are drawn from Hydro One's work centres in Kingston, Tweed, Campbellford, Trenton, Picton, Bowmanville, Fenelon Falls, Minden, Peterborough and Newmarket. They will be working in and around Rutland in the central part of the state that was hit hard by Monday's storm. All costs of this expedition will be paid by Central Vermont Public Service.

Hydro One has almost 130 lines and forestry staff deployed in the Perth and Vankleek Hill areas southeast of Ottawa cleaning up storm damage. Power should be restored to all customers in these areas later today.

Hydro One has gained an excellent reputation for its storm response capabilities. It has sent crews to Florida at the request of Florida Power and Light on three different occasions in the last three years following hurricane damage. Earlier this year Hydro One won the prestigious Edison Electric Institute's "Emergency Recovery Award" for outstanding efforts to restore electric service following three successive severe storms in Ontario last summer and fall. Edison Electric Institute (EEI) is the association of United States investor-owned electric utilities and industry affiliates and associates worldwide.

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.