NS Power Hurricane Fiona Update - Monday
NS Power Hurricane Fiona Update – Tuesday
As crews continue to focus on restoring power to customers in the two regions of the province hardest hit by Fiona, some estimated restoration times have been moved out.
In Cape Breton, some of the remaining customers have seen their estimated times change to Thursday and Friday, while customers in the northeast region including Antigonish, Pictou, Colchester, and Cumberland have seen their estimated times move into the weekend. Those customers who are now seeing restoration times moved to Sunday will be receiving a call directly from Customer Care to talk about the situation.
“We understand losing power impacts every part of your life,” said Lia MacDonald, Northeast Emergency Operations Centre Lead. “We also appreciate we’re heading into Thanksgiving weekend which is typically filled with family gatherings. I want customers to know we are doing everything we can to get your power back safely and as soon as possible.”
The majority of the remaining outages in the province are what we call ‘single outages’, which means each impact one customer. These restorations will take at least one crew to restore power for one customer, although in many cases it takes several crews and several hours to get restored.
The remaining repairs are also more complex, with crews needing to rebuild entire sections of lines and poles. Areas still need to be cleared from debris and trees, broken poles, transformers and fuses need to be replaced and crews are installing new service lines to homes.
There are also more than 2300 broken meter masts. This damage requires the homeowner to have a certified electrician make repairs before NS Power can safely restore power. We have a team in Customer Care dedicated to working directly with these customers and supporting them through the repair process.
“This has been a difficult week and a half for many Nova Scotians and we understand people are losing patience,” said MacDonald. “We ask for your own safety to please wait for the experts rather than trying to remove trees and branches away from power lines.”
The United Way in Halifax, Northeastern Nova Scotia and Cape Breton have launched a United Hurricane Relief Fund to provide immediate relief funding to help community agencies support those impacted by Fiona. The Government of Nova Scotia is also offering disaster assistance to help with damage caused by the storm. More information on what assistance is available can be found on our website at www.nspower.ca
QUICK FACTS:
- This storm response effort is the largest in NS Power’s history with more than 1500 people in the field and hundreds more behind the scenes helping to support customers and crews.
- As of today (Tuesday), approximately 97% of the customer impacted by Fiona have been restored.
- If a customer’s electrical equipment is damaged – like 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.
- For your own safety, please be aware of downed power lines. Treat them as if they are energized and stay back the length of a bus. Please call to report it right away (1-877-428-6004).
NORTHEAST (Truro/Pictou County/Amherst/Antigonish/Guysborough)
- Over 900 people are on the ground in the northeast region including power line technicians, forestry technicians, damage assessors and field support.
- As power is restored in one area, we continue to move crews into this hardest hit area of the province.
- All hospitals and critical infrastructure have been restored. Our crews continue to focus on areas with extensive damage including the Eastern Shore, Truro, Pictou County, Antigonish, Amherst, North Shore.
- Our satellite Emergency Operations Centre in Truro continues to coordinate plans/resources for the northeast region of the province.
- Together with the Canadian Armed Forces, the staging site in Pictou County is supporting 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 today (Tuesday), approximately 88% of customers in the northeast who lost power from the impacts of the hurricane have been restored.
CAPE BRETON
- Over 500 people are on the ground in Cape Breton, including powerline technicians, forestry technicians, damage assessors and field support.
- All industrial parks and major centres in Cape Breton Regional Municipality (CBRM) now have power.
- There are parts of neighborhoods as well as individual customers throughout CBRM that are still out due to extensive damage. We have crews going street to street to assess and restore power in these areas.
- Our satellite Emergency Operations Centre in Cape Breton continues to coordinate plans/resources for CB.
- The staging site in Sydney supports 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 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 have limited access and made it difficult for our crews to move around.
- More than 65,000 customers have been affected in this region. As of today (Tuesday), approximately 96% of customers in Cape Breton who lost power from the impacts of the hurricane have been restored.
HRM (Halifax/Dartmouth/Sackville/Bedford/Windsor/Musquodoboit/Chester)
- Damage in HRM has been 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 today (Tuesday) there are less than 100 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