Hydro One commences power restoration in Chapleau area following outages
caused by local fires

TORONTO, May 30 /CNW/ - Today, Hydro One crews commenced power restoration activities in the Chapleau area. A power outage, which began on Friday, May 28, was caused by a forest fire that started Thursday, May 27 in the Chapleau area near Wawa, Ontario.

A fire burned through hydro poles and caused a power outage affecting approximately 2,000 local residents, including 470 Hydro One customers. Initially crews were unable to undertake repair work until local authorities had contained the fire and determined that it was safe for responders to access the site.

"We have been working cooperatively throughout the weekend with local officials and the Ministry of Natural Resources to assess the damage to the electricity system," said Myles D'Arcey, Senior Vice-President, Customer Operations. "We have been assured that our crews can now commence power restoration work in a safe and efficient manner."

Seventy-five workers and support staff and one helicopter and off-road equipment have been mobilized to undertake power restoration work which involves clearing conductor; removing and replacing burnt poles; and, the restringing of conductor. Based on the current damage assessment, it is expected that full power restoration will not be complete until late Monday.

Local wind and weather conditions are not currently impeding the restoration effort. Should the situation change, crews will evacuate the area based on predetermined evacuation plans established by, and reviewed with, Ministry of Natural Resources officials.

The Company will continue to provide updates as events change and evolve.

Hydro One delivers electricity safely, reliably and responsibly to homes and businesses across the province of Ontario and owns and operates Ontario's 29,000 km high-voltage transmission network that delivers electricity to large industrial customers and municipal utilities, and a 123,000 km low-voltage distribution system that serves about 1.3 million end-use customers and smaller municipal utilities in the province. Hydro One is wholly owned by the Province of Ontario.

For further information: contact Hydro One Media Relations 24 hours a day at 1-877-506-7584 (toll-free in Ontario only) or [phone]. Our website is www.HydroOne.com.