Summer thunderstorms knock out power to more than 128,000 Hydro One customers

TORONTO, July 19, 2013 /CNW/ - This afternoon, severe thunderstorms moved across north eastern and central Ontario bringing high winds and heavy lightning causing power outages  to Hydro One's distribution system.

Where safe, Hydro One crews are out assessing damage and starting repairs.  It is expected that the number of customers affected by these storms will increase as the system continues to move across the province.

Hydro One will provide updates on restoration times once the extent of the storm damage has been determined in each of the affected areas. Typically an outage of this magnitude can take multiple days to repair damage and get power restored to all customers.

Important Safety Information

Hydro One strongly urges people to take extra precaution near fallen power lines. People are urged to report the location of the fallen wires to Hydro One as soon as possible. Touching a vehicle or a tree that is in contact with a power line can be fatal.

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.

SOURCE: Hydro One Inc.

Hydro One Media Relations 24 hours a day at 1-877-506-7584 (toll-free in Ontario only) or 416-345-6868. Our website is www.HydroOne.com.