Nova Scotia Power Opens Emergency Operations Centre

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HALIFAX – Nova Scotia Power will open its Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) in advance of a significant wind and rain storm expected to hit the province starting overnight and into tomorrow.

“The latest storm is expected to bring high winds overnight tonight and into Friday, along with rain and a risk of flash freezing,” says Sean Borden, Nova Scotia Power’s storm lead. “We are activating our Emergency Operations Centre and positioning our team across the province, so we are ready to respond as safely and quickly as possible.” 

The EOC provides a central place to coordinate planning for outage restoration and response. It is staffed with employees from all parts of the company.  Nova Scotia Power is also working closely with the provincial Emergency Management Office (EMO) and has a team onsite to help coordinate the response.

“It has been a busy winter storm season.  We are preparing for our seventh storm in as many weeks,” Borden said. “We will ensure we are well positioned across the province in order to be able to respond as needed for our customers.” 

Customer Safety

NS Power encourages customers to monitor their local weather forecasts and prepare accordingly. Some tips include having an emergency kit with flashlights, battery-powered radio and fresh water.  For a full list of safety and storm preparedness tips: www.nspower.ca/stormready.

Outage Information

Customers can report outages and get estimated times of restoration (ETRs) online at outagemap.nspower.ca or by calling 1-877-428-6004.  For more info on how power is restored in a storm, please visit: http://nspower.ca/storm.

Damaged Electrical Equipment

Sometimes a customer’s electrical equipment – such as a meter mast – can get damaged in a storm.  If this happens, it’s important to remember they will need a certified electrician to make repairs before NS Power can safely restore their power.

    QUICK FACTS

    • high winds can cause power lines to come down due to trees or branches falling on lines
    • the impact can vary depending on the strength of the wind and how fast the system moves across a region/province
      • 80km/hour winds can weaken branches/limbs on trees which can come down later
      • 90km/hour winds can start taking whole trees down
      • 100km+/hour can take multiple trees in one location down
    • high winds can slow restoration efforts as crews stand down when winds reach 80km/hour until it is safe to go back up in the buckets
    • the freezing rain and ice can affect road conditions and in turn impact how fast crews are able to get to affected areas.

    FOR BROADCAST USE

     

    NOVA SCOTIA POWER IS OPENING ITS EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTRE IN ADVANCE OF ANOTHER WINTER STORM.  IT’S EXPECTED TO BRING HIGH WINDS OVERNIGHT AND INTO TOMORROW (FRIDAY), WITH HEAVY RAIN AND A RISK OF FLASH FREEZING ACROSS THE PROVINCE.

    THE UTILITY IS POSITIONING ITS TEAM OF POWER LINE TECHNICIANS, DAMAGE ASSESSORS AND FORESTRY TEAMS ACROSS THE PROVINCE IN PREPARATION FOR THE STORM.  MORE STAFF WILL ALSO BE BROUGHT IN TO SUPPORT CUSTOMERS THROUGH THE CUSTOMER CARE CENTRE.

    NOVA SCOTIA POWER STORM LEAD, SEAN BORDEN, SAYS CREWS WILL BE READY TO RESPOND AS QUICKLY AND SAFELY AS POSSIBLE. 

    THIS IS THE SEVENTH WINTER STORM TO HIT THE PROVINCE IN AS MANY WEEKS.  STORM SAFETY AND PREPAREDNESS TIPS CAN BE FOUND ON NOVA SCOTIA POWER’S WEBSITE AT NSPOWER.CA/STORMREADY.

     

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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 more than 525,000 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 1,700 employees and $4.1 billion in operating assets. Learn more at www.nspower.ca.

    Contact:

    Jacqueline Foster
    NSP Senior Communications Advisor
    902-225-4735
    Jacqueline.foster@nspower.ca

     

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