NS Power Hurricane Fiona Update
Nova Scotians are seeing more cranes and heavy equipment on the ground as over 1,500 people continue to work through the damage from Fiona and retore power to customers as quickly and safely as possible.
Restoration efforts continue to ramp up in the eastern part of the province, including Eastern Shore, Truro, Pictou County, Antigonish, Amherst, North Shore and Cape Breton. In many cases downed trees are so large heavy equipment and cranes are the only way they can be moved in order to clear the way for crews to get in and start to repair, rebuild and restore power.
“We are seeing trees five feet in diameter on the ground and across roads,” said Mark Sidebottom, Cape Breton Emergency Operations Centre Lead. “This heavy equipment is essential to help clear the way so our crews can do the work that needs to be done to get customers reconnected.”
This type of damage makes restoration very complex – requiring multiple crews, working for several hours. With the extra equipment and activity in neighbourhoods and communities, residents are encouraged to keep a safe distance from those working in the field. And please don’t walk through, or near, worksites as it can be dangerous.
“The extent of this damage is something many of us have never experienced before,” said Lia MacDonald, Northeast Emergency Operations Centre Lead. “We understand it has generated a great deal of interest and customers have questions about when their power will be restored. It’s really important to keep a safe distance from crews and allow them to focus on their work.”
With thousands of downed trees and hundreds of broken poles across these regions, there are still many downed lines and wires. Please treat all wires as if they are energized and stay back the length of a bus. It is also important to be aware of trees touching or tangled up in overhead lines – do not attempt to cut them down yourself.
Traffic Control is also in place in many areas on public roads, which we rely on to help keep our crews safe while they work. Please follow directions and reduce your speed while driving through these areas.
The best source for the latest information about restoration is the outage map: outagemap.nspower.ca
QUICK FACTS:
- About 415,000 customers lost power during Fiona, as of this morning (Saturday), more than 370,000 have been restored.
- In addition to the provincial Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) in Halifax, there are two satellite EOCs in Truro and Sydney - command centres where we continue to coordinate local plans and resources for the regions.
- There are still lots of lines and wires down. For your own safety please treat them as if they are energized. Stay back the length of a bus and call us and report it right away (1-877-428-6004).
- If a customer’s electrical equipment is damaged – such as a meter mast – they need a certified electrician to make repairs before NS Power can safely restore power. A list of electrical contractors can be found in link provided.
NORTHEAST (Truro/Pictou County/Amherst/Antigonish/Guysborough)
- The most significant damage from Fiona was in the eastern part of the province, including the Eastern Shore, Truro, Pictou County, Antigonish, Amherst, North Shore and Cape Breton.
- There are over 700 people on the ground in the northeast region including power line technicians, forestry technicians, damage assessors and field support.
- We have set up a satellite Emergency Operations Centre in Truro – a command centre where we will continue to coordinate plans and resources for the Northeast region of the province.
- Together with the Canadian Armed Forces the staging site in Pictou County will support our restoration efforts. This is where we coordinate and dispatch crews – a one stop shop for materials, fuel and food.
- The Canadian Armed Forces and Department of Natural Resources personnel are in the region helping crews remove trees and brush and running supplies.
- Damage in this region is due primarily to broken poles and downed lines due to falling trees, trees on power lines, and trees on roads limiting access and making travel difficult for our crews.
- About 90,000 customers have been affected in this region. As of this morning (Saturday), approximately 70% of customers in the northeast have been restored.
CAPE BRETON
- The most significant damage from Fiona was in the eastern part of the province, including the Northeast region and Cape Breton, particularly Cape Breton Regional Municipality (CBRM).
- There are over 500 people on the ground in Cape Breton including powerline technicians, forestry technicians, damage assessors and field support.
- Together with the Canadian Armed Forces the staging site in Sydney will support our restoration efforts. This is where we coordinate and dispatch crews – a one stop shop for materials, fuel and food.
- The Canadian Armed Forces and Department of Natural Resources personnel are also on the ground in Cape Breton helping crews remove trees and brush and running supplies.
- Damage in Cape Breton is due primarily to hundreds of broken poles and downed lines due to falling trees, trees on power lines, washed out roads limiting access and making it difficult for our crews to move around.
- There is also a satellite Emergency Operations Centre in Sydney - a command centre where we continue to coordinate plans and resources for Cape Breton.
- More than 65,000 customers have been affected in this region. As of this morning (Saturday), approximately 80% of customers in Cape Breton have been restored.
HRM (Halifax/Dartmouth/Sackville/Bedford/Windsor/Musquodoboit/Chester)
- Damage in HRM is due primarily to trees coming into contact with power lines, downed lines due to falling trees and trees on roads limiting and making travel difficult for our crews.
- More than 210,000 customers have been affected in this region. As of this morning (Saturday) there are less than 1,000 customers to be restored.
- These are more complex restorations that take much longer and require multiple crews.
Media Contact:
Jacqueline Foster
NSP Senior Communications Advisor 902-225-4735