NS Power Hurricane Fiona Update – Wednesday

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NS Power Hurricane Fiona Update – Wednesday

Restoration efforts continue to focus on the two hardest hit regions – the Northeast and Cape Breton.

“We continue to make progress as our crews work to safely restore power to our remaining customers,” said Lia MacDonald, Northeast Emergency Operations Centre Lead. “There are still a few larger clusters in areas like Stellarton, Pictou, Tatamagouche and Truro.”

“In Cape Breton, crews are working to restore the remaining customers by Friday, with a focus on the Mira area including Grand Mira North, Albert Bridge, Marion Bridge, Louisbourg, Gabarus and Fourchu,” said Mark Sidebottom, Cape Breton Emergency Operations Centre Lead. “There are many downed trees on our equipment in these areas. Crews are rebuilding entire sections of lines and poles, clearing debris, fixing broken poles and installing new service lines to homes.”

Eighty percent of the remaining outages caused by Hurricane Fiona, are single customer outages – and the majority of those are in the Northeast. The work required to restore power for each of these customers takes at least one crew and repairs can take time. 

Over 98% of the customers impacted by Fiona have been restored. The majority of the remaining customers are expected to be restored by Sunday, although it’s possible there could be individual customers remaining who we will continue to work with one on one, given the extensive damage they’ve experienced.

QUICK FACTS:

  • Of the approximately 2300 ‘active outages’ remaining on the website, about 1850 of them are single customer outages. More than 1,500 of single customer outages are in the Northeast.
  • 2300 broken/damaged meter masts have been reported across the province.  Customers with damaged electrical equipment – like a meter mast will need a certified electrician to make repairs before NS Power can safely restore power.  Customer Care has a dedicated team to work directly with these customers and support them through the repair process.
  • 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.
  • 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).

SUPPORT:

  • United Hurricane Relief Fund – launched by the United Way in Halifax, Northeastern NS and Cape Breton and funded by Emera and NS Power to provide immediate relief funding to help community agencies support those impacted by Fiona. 
  • Disaster Assistance & Small Business Hurricane Relief Program – offered by the Government of Nova Scotia (novascotia.ca).
  • Hurricane Fiona Recovery Fund – $300 million fund announced by Federal Government to help provide assistance over the next two years to help repair critical infrastructure damaged by Fiona.

More information can be found on these assistance programs on our website: www.nspower.ca

NORTHEAST (Truro/Pictou County/Amherst/Antigonish/Guysborough)

  • Over 900 people are on the ground supporting restoration efforts.
  • Of the more than 90,000 customers affected in this region, over 92% of customers (as of Wednesday) have been restored.
  • There are more than 1500 single customer outages remaining in the Northeast region.
  • 2300 broken/damaged meter masts have been reported across the province with about 55% in the northeast.  
  • As power is restored in one area, crews continue to move to areas where customers are still without power.
  • The Truro Satellite Emergency Operations Centre continues to coordinate plans/resources for the region and the staging site in Pictou County continues to coordinate and dispatch crews.
  • 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.

CAPE BRETON

  • Over 500 people are on the ground supporting restoration efforts.
  • Of the more than 65,000 customers affected in this region, over 98% of customers (as of Wednesday) have been restored.
  • There are approximately 250 single customer outages remaining in Cape Breton.
  • As power is restored in one area, crews continue to move to areas where customers are still without power.
  • The Cape Breton Satellite Emergency Operations Centre continues to coordinate plans/resources for the region and the staging site in Sydney continues to coordinate and dispatch crews.
  • 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.

Media Contact: 

Jacqueline Foster

NSP Senior Communications Advisor

902-225-4735

Jacqueline.foster@nspower.ca

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