NS Power Crews Safely Restoring Power following Damaging High Winds
Halifax - Crews continue to work to restore power to customers affected by the significant winds that swept across the province yesterday and overnight.
As work continues on the ground, a helicopter will also be used today to inspect transmission lines to help identify damage. Winds were near 100km an hour in some areas, knocking trees and branches into power lines and in some cases brought down wires and broke power poles.
“High winds can also cause damage to meter masts on customers’ homes,” said Matt Drover, NS Power Storm Lead. “If this happens, customers will need to get a certified electrician to make repairs before NS Power can safely restore their power.”
Other areas in the Northeast, Annapolis Valley and the Halifax Stanfield International Airport, saw wind gusts approaching 80 km/h last as long as six hours making it unsafe for crews to go up in buckets to restore power until winds slowed down.
About 100,000 customers lost power due to the impacts of the storm and as of 10am (Tuesday) crews have restored service to about 78,000 customers. There are about 500 people in the field working to restore power to customers, which includes power line technicians, damage assessors and forestry workers. There are hundreds more working behind the scenes supporting customers and crews.
“Our team has been doing proactive upgrades and maintenance throughout the year including more tree trimming and replacing poles with stronger more resilient ones. This helps prepare the system for high winds and extreme weather,” said Drover. “This storm is a reminder of how important that work is and why we continue to invest more in our tree trimming program.”
Customers are encouraged to keep an eye on the NS Power outage map at http://outagemap.nspower.ca for the latest information and estimated restoration times.
QUICK FACTS:
- We’re seeing more extreme weather, more often. That includes more high winds over 80km an hour which can cause branches and trees to break and come into contact with the power system causing outages.
- The average number of hours of wind gusts over 80km an hour in the last five years – is up 54% from the five years before that.
- If you see downed wires, please don’t try to move them yourself. Stay back and call us to report it right away (1-877-428-6004).
- More information on restoration phases can be found at: http://nspower.ca/storm.
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About Nova Scotia Power
Nova Scotia Power Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Emera Inc. (TSX-EMA), a diversified energy and services company. Nova Scotia Power provides 95% of the generation, transmission and distribution of electrical power to approximately 540,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers across Nova Scotia. The company is focused on new technologies to enhance customer service and reliability, reduce emissions and add renewable energy. Nova Scotia Power has over 2000 employees and $4.5 billion in operating assets. Learn more at www.nspower.ca.
Contact:
Jacqueline Foster
NSP Senior Communications Advisor
Media Line: 902-233-6015