Public Service Announcement - Hydro Ottawa restores power to 94 per cent of customers - 2:00 PM UPDATE

OTTAWA, ON, May 29, 2022 /CNW/ - Hydro Ottawa has successfully restored power to 94 per cent of its 180,000 customers that were impacted by the storm last Saturday.

With 9,900 customers without power across the City of Ottawa, we are now entering the last phase of restoration efforts targeting the remaining isolated outages. Today, crews will continue to work in parts of the following areas:

Four steps for a safe repair (CNW Group/Hydro Ottawa Holding Inc.)

• Bells Corners east and Lynwood Village
• Carlingwood west, Glaber Park, Mckellar Heights and Whitehaven
• City View, Crestview and Meadowlands Drive
• Cityview Skyline, Fisher Heights
• Fisher Glen
• Lincoln Heights and Britannia Heights
• Merivale Gardens and areas around Merivale Road
• Pauline Vanier Park
• Pineglen Annex
• Queensway Terrace South and Ridgeview
• Riverside Park and Hog's Back

If customers in these communities continue to notice downed power lines in their backyard or neighbourhood - please stay at least 10 metres (the length of a school bus) away from the wires, or from any objects that are in contact with the lines such as trees. Please report it via our 24/7 Outage Line at 613 738-0188 or online.

To understand if you may need to make repairs caused by damage to customer-owned equipment at your residence prior to being reconnected, call 613 738-6418 or visit our Home Electrical Systems and Electrical Service Repair pages.

Hydro Ottawa understands how challenging the past week has been for residents. The level of destruction the storm left in its wake has been like nothing we have seen before.

Quick facts:

• Hydro Ottawa has completed nearly a year's worth of construction in the past nine days
• In a normal year, Hydro Ottawa replaces on average 325-350 poles as part of our planned work activities. With this storm, we are expecting to hit the 400 mark of poles that need to be repaired or replaced.
• The heavy winds and rain from last weekend's storm caused more than 1,000 power outages. This is five times the outages experienced when the tornadoes touched down in 2018.

Safety tips

• Hydro Ottawa asks the public to respect work site perimetres by keeping a safe distance from crews and as they work on energizing the power grid.
• If customers notice downed power lines, stay at least 10 metres away (the length of a school bus) from the wires and from any objects that are in contact with the lines such as trees. If there is a downed power line, please call us at 613 738-0188.
• Hydro Ottawa is working with the City of Ottawa to ensure that those affected by extended power outages get the help they need. The City has opened several emergency reception centres. Visit the City of Ottawa's Emergency Preparedness page for an expanded list.
• As a reminder, if customers were cooking when the power went out, turn off the stove, oven or other cooking appliances.
• As power is being restored, Hydro Ottawa reminds residents to conserve their use of energy and avoid turning on all electronics and appliances to avoid impacting the electricity supply.
• Turn off all lights, unplug appliances and electronics, and turn down heating system thermostats. This will help avoid a power surge when electricity is restored.
• Please reserve the use of 911 to situations where there is a risk to public safety, and life-threatening emergencies.

About Hydro Ottawa

Hydro Ottawa delivers electricity to approximately 353,000 homes and businesses in Ottawa and Casselman. For 100 years, Hydro Ottawa has reliably supplied its customers with power, building and investing in the local electric grid. Proudly municipally owned, Hydro Ottawa contributes to the well-being of the community we serve. Its innovative services help customers manage their account and energy use.

SOURCE Hydro Ottawa Holding Inc.

Media Contact: Susan Barrett, Manager, Communications, Hydro Ottawa, [email protected], www.hydroottawa.com