NS POWER HURRICANE FIONA UPDATE: Historic Storm Response Effort

Crews continue to assess damage and restore power to customers across Nova Scotia in what has become the largest mobilization of crews in NS Power’s history.

Today there will be more than 1300 people in the field including power line technicians, forestry technicians and damage assessors.  There are crews from New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Quebec, Ontario and New England supporting our crews.  We are also being supported by the Canadian Armed Forces and Department of Natural Resources.  They are helping remove trees and brush, running supplies and providing security for trucks and equipment.

“The damage caused by Hurricane Fiona is extreme and this storm response effort is historic,” said Peter Gregg, NS Power, President & CEO.  “We are grateful to have the support of crews from eastern Canada and beyond helping to support our team as we work to restore power to our customers.”

The damage from Fiona is widespread and there are still areas we haven’t been able to access to see the extent of the damage.  We are making progress with restoration, however, we know there will be customers who will be without power for several days.

QUICK FACTS:

• About 415,000 customers lost power during Fiona, as of noon today (Tuesday), more than 280,000 have been restored.
• There are still lots of lines and wires down.  Please treat them as if they are energized. Stay back and call us and report it right away (1-877-428-6004).

• If a customer’s electrical equipment is damaged – such as 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 the link provided.

• We encourage customers to watch the outage map for the latest information on their outage:  outagemap.nspower.ca
  

WESTERN (Annapolis Valley/Yarmouth/South Shore)

• The main cause of outages in the western region is trees coming into contact with power lines.
• Over 50,000 customers have been affected in the western region. As of 6am today (Tuesday), 99% of customers in the region have been restored.
• The remaining outages are a result of more significant damage – many of them requiring both forestry crews and power line technicians to complete the restoration.
• As the remaining customers are restored, we will be moving crews east to help with efforts in other regions.

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

• Today there will be over 400 people on the ground in the northeast region including power line technicians, forestry technicians and damage assessors.
• We are setting up a satellite Emergency Operations Centre in Truro – a command centre where we will continue to coordinate plans and resources for the Northeast region of the province.
• We continue assessing the severity of the damage caused by the storm. These assessments are key to our plans to restore power.
• 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 6am (Tuesday), 45% of customers in the northeast have been restored.

HRM (Halifax/Dartmouth/Sackville/Bedford/Windsor/Musquodoboit/Chester)

• Today there will be over 400 people on the ground in this region including power line technicians, forestry technicians and damage assessors.
• Drones will continue to patrol offroad sections in Dartmouth today, assessing damage to powerlines that is not visible from the street. 
• Damage in HRM is due primarily to trees coming into contact with power lines, downed lines due to falling trees and trees on roads limiting access and making travel difficult for our crews.
• About 210,000 customers have been affected in this region.  As of 6am today (Tuesday), 90% of customers in HRM have been restored.

CAPE BRETON

• Today there will be over 400 people on the ground in Cape Breton including powerline technicians, forestry technicians and damage assessors.
• The Canadian Armed Forces and Department of Natural Resources personnel are also on the ground in Cape Breton helping crews remove trees and brush, running supplies and providing security for trucks and equipment.
• The most significant damage was in the eastern part of the province including the Eastern Shore and Cape Breton.  We continue to assess the severity of the damage. These assessments are key to our restoration planning and response.

• 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 limiting access and making it difficult for our crews to move around.
• There is also a satellite Emergency Operations Centre in Sydney - a command centre where we continue to coordinate plans and resources for Cape Breton.
• More than 65,000 customers have been affected in this region.  As of 6am today (Tuesday), 49% of customers in Cape Breton have been restored.

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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.

Media Contact:

Jacqueline Foster

NSP Senior Communications Advisor 902-225-4735

Jacqueline.foster@nspower.ca