Hydro Ottawa is entering the “final phase” of restoring energy to homes and businesses after a devastating storm more than a week ago, with the goal of getting the network back online tonight.
As of Sunday morning, 11,000 customers remain without electricity across the city. Hydro Ottawa says since the storm on May 21, about 93 percent of the 180,000 customers affected by the storm have had their electricity restored.
11,000 customers are left without electricity. After nine days, we have 100 breaks to restore in areas of the city. Extensive construction. In total, more than 300 sticks need to be replaced. Comparison, ice storm: 50. Tornadoes: 80. + ruins and felled trees. Efforts continue 24 hours a day today.
– Hydro Ottawa (@hydroottawa) May 29, 2022
“Overnight, we raised 5,000 more customers, which was pretty decent in my eyes,” system operations director Joseph Muglia told Newstalk 580 CFRA Live CFRA Live with Andrew Thinking Sunday morning.
“The remaining pockets are the most affected. They have the most mature trees,” Muglia said. “It’s not just about laying the lines, it’s still about cleaning up the brush, cleaning up the big fallen trees, getting them out of the way, getting the rubble out of the way so we can work and get the lines back and, in many cases, restore the sticks “.
Hydro Ottawa says crews are putting “a lot of emphasis on those areas that were most affected,” and the goal is to restore the “bulk power system” as soon as possible.
“We are close and with another day of hard work, we believe that tomorrow night we will have power in all the circuits of the distribution system,” a note to Hydro Ottawa’s board said Saturday night.
“Please understand, this is by no means a safe thing and does not imply that everyone has power. As I said from the beginning, there are many pockets with great damage that will prevent or inhibit energy.”
Hydro Ottawa on Saturday offered a schedule to directors of the remaining 13 largest outages by number of customers.
- Carleton Square, Cityview, Skyline, Fisher Heights, Parkwood Hills, Carleton Heights: 1,725 guests
- Whitehaven, Carlingwood West, Glabar Park, McKellar Heights: 1,403 guests
- Manordale and Crestview Area: 1,373 guests
- PineGlen, PineGlen Annex, part of Merivale Road and Prince of Wales – 983 guests
- Parts of Riverside South and Hogs Back: 962 customers
- West of Merivale, along Viewmount, south of Viewmount to the slopes, to Glenmanor Drive – 565 guests
- Ridegeview Park Area: 535 guests
- Carleton Square, Cityview, Skyline, Fisher Heights, Parkwood Hills, Carleton Heights – 535 guests (different circuit)
- Along the Meadowlands, west of Merivale, to Perry and Rowely: 502 guests
- New Grasshopper Hill Park and Parkland: 497 guests
- Lennox Park Avenue, Knox Crescent, Drake Avenue, Dorion Avenue: 427 guests
- Pinecrest Park – 420 guests
- South of CHEO, north of Pleasant Park, between Riverside Campus and Lynda Lane Park: 380 guests
“The next part of the restoration is complex as a result of the remaining debris, fallen trees and branches and / or damage to customer-owned equipment,” Hydro Ottawa said in a statement on Saturday afternoon.
“If customers notice that their electrical equipment (such as service poles, meter base, or wires running from the meter base to the electrical panel in the home) has been damaged, they may need to repair your computers before Hydro Ottawa can be reconnected.
Hydro Ottawa says as crews complete major construction projects, they will be broken down and assigned to smaller teams to cover smaller pockets where power is still off.
Natalie van Rooy of CTVNewsOttawa asked Hydro Ottawa on Saturday if electricity could be restored by the end of the weekend.
“This is definitely our hope,” Muglia said.
Muglia says Hydro Ottawa “expects to have the bulk supply” by the end of the weekend, which would be the power supply to neighborhoods.
“We’re spread all over the city … we’re focusing on those areas that need a little extra attention.”
Hydro teams from New Brunswick, London, Ont., Toronto and Kingston remain in Ottawa to assist with the cleanup.
Mayor Jim Watson acknowledges that patience may be exhausted for residents who have been without electricity for nine days.
“Obviously, those 18,000 who don’t have power yet are frustrated, as they should be. But we’re moving forward,” Watson told CTV News on Saturday night.
“WE DIDN’T FORGET,” HYDRO OTTAWA SAYS
Frustration has risen across Ottawa this weekend as residents spend a second weekend without light after the May 21 storm.
Muglia insists that Hydro Ottawa will continue to work 24 hours a day until the entire network is recovered.
“We hope residents can support us a little more,” Muglia said.
“This was such a widespread success in our city. There are a lot of trees with broken wires and poles that we are still dealing with.”
Muglia adds that Hydro Ottawa has not forgotten the 18,000 customers who do not yet have electricity.
“There are residents who feel we have forgotten about them. I can guarantee you that we have not forgotten them,” Muglia said on Saturday.
“We are aware of every feeder that has an interruption. Even if you can see a street from you, a street that has power and you don’t, don’t worry, we haven’t forgotten anyone.”
HYDRO ONE AND HYDRO QUEBEC
Hydro One reports that just over 12,300 customers across Ontario remain without electricity on Sunday morning. The company says it has connected more than 750,000 customers since last Saturday’s storm.
As it progresses, Hydro One warns that some of the more remote areas may be waiting a few more days, or possibly weeks, to restore electricity.
More than 1,900 hydraulic masts were destroyed by the storm.
Hydro Quebec reported that 8,700 customers across the province were left without electricity on Sunday morning, most of whom are in the Laurentian area. In the Outaouais region, just over 1,000 customers have not yet reconnected to the network. Most Gatineau customers have restored electricity; however, there are disruptions scattered throughout the Outaouais region in places such as La Peche and Val-des-Monts.
SCHOOLS
The Ottawa District School Board Carleton and the Ottawa Catholic School Board say schools will open for face-to-face learning Monday if they have power.
Schools will open on Monday if electricity has been restored to the building before 3pm on Sunday.
Details of school bus cancellations are available on the Ottawa Student Transportation Authority website.
FOOD LEFTOVERS
All organic waste containers have only been removed from the city’s 15 sites.
For information on waste disposal options, visit the City of Ottawa website.
CAPITAL CLEANING
The City of Ottawa has launched a new neighborhood cleanup program called “Cleaning the Capital: After the Storm.”
Like the annual Cleaning the Captial program, neighbors, family, and friends can work together to clean up their neighborhood after the storm. Residents are asked to fill out the electronic registration form for the “Capital Cleanup” program.
Supplies can be picked up from Saturday, between 10 a.m. and 10 p.m., at the following locations:
- Navan Memorial Center & Arena, 1295 Colonial Road
- Howard Darwin Centennial (Merivale) Arena, 1765 Merivale Road
- Hunt Club-Riverside Park Community Center, 3320 Paul Anka Drive
- CARDELREC Recreation Complex (Goulbourn), 1500 Shea Road
The city is also partnering with Samaritan’s Purse, a non-governmental organization, and will support residents who have been affected on their private property. For more information, visit samaritanspurse.ca/ottawavolunteer.
Volunteers are asked to bring the following:
- Clothes suitable for the weather that can be soiled, wet or damaged
- work gloves if you have them, otherwise they can provide you
- closed toe shoes (ideally steel toe boots)
Please do not bring your own equipment or tools to a Samaritan’s Purse project.