Hydro One sends crews to help restore power to Vermont following winter
storms

TORONTO, Feb. 25 /CNW/ - Hydro One announced today it has dispatched crews to Vermont to assist with power restoration efforts after severe winter storms caused widespread outages in that state's electricity system earlier this week. The Company is sending 44 line maintainers and other personnel as well as restoration equipment and vehicles.

In Vermont, heavy snow and high winds this week have hampered storm restoration efforts, particularly in southern Vermont, where the American Red Cross has opened emergency shelters. Hydro One crews will first head to Rutland, one of the hardest hit areas in southern Vermont. The Central Vermont Public Service power company has asked Hydro One for assistance to repair its badly damaged electricity infrastructure. Hydro One crews are expected to remain in Vermont until Monday March 1, 2010. More than 18,000 state residents are currently without power, and another major storm front is expected to bring more snow and wind to the state in the next two days.

"I am proud of the employees of Hydro One for lending their knowledge and expertise in a time of need," said Laura Formusa, President and CEO, Hydro One. "Outages of this magnitude can be crippling to any community and Hydro One will be lending its support to help restore power to the residents of Vermont."

Hydro One has reciprocal agreements in place with North American utilities to provide assistance during significant power outages. Hydro One crews have assisted U.S. utilities following other emergencies, including providing assistance to the State of Florida following hurricanes in 2004 and 2005. In 2007, crews also assisted Vermont following a severe weather event that resulted in significant outages. In September 2008, more than 170 Hydro One line maintainers and equipment were sent to Ohio to assist with power restoration when a state of emergency was declared following Hurricane Ike.

Hydro One delivers electricity safely, reliably and responsibly to homes and businesses across the province of Ontario. The Company 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]; Visit our website at www.HydroOne.com