Toronto Hydro crews travelling to Buffalo to help restore power following severe wind storm

Toronto Hydro crew members have been dispatched to Buffalo, New York to help with power restoration following wind storm. (CNW Group/Toronto Hydro Corporation)

Toronto Hydro crews departed this afternoon to help restore power to Buffalo, New York following powerful wind storm. (CNW Group/Toronto Hydro Corporation)

National Grid New York requested help following yesterday's powerful wind storm

TORONTO, March 9, 2017 /CNW/ - Toronto Hydro is responding to a request for help from National Grid New York after a severe wind storm knocked out power to thousands of customers in the Buffalo area. As of this morning, approximately 70,000 were without power.

Damage includes downed powerlines, poles that have been knocked down and fallen trees and branches.

Toronto Hydro is a member of the North Atlantic Mutual Assistance Group (NAMAG). NAMAG is a consortium of 26 utilities from across the North Atlantic that have signed an agreement to share resources during an emergency, like the 2013 ice storm, tropical storms, hurricanes, and other disasters.

Crews departed late this afternoon from Toronto Hydro's service centre in Etobicoke.

QUICK FACTS

• Toronto Hydro is sending 16 workers to Buffalo
• National Grid is an electricity and natural gas delivery company with nearly 7 million customers in New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island

QUOTES

"The damage in Buffalo is much worse than what we saw yesterday in Toronto.  As we were spared the brunt of this bad weather, we're happy to share our crews and respond to National Grid New York's request for assistance and help restore power to the thousands of customers affected."

- John Borowitz, General Manager, Distribution Grid Operations and Emergency Management, Toronto Hydro 

ABOUT TORONTO HYDRO

Toronto Hydro owns and operates the electricity distribution system for Canada's largest city. A leader in conservation and demand management, it has 761,000 customers located in the city of Toronto and distributes approximately 19% of the electricity consumed in Ontario.

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SOURCE Toronto Hydro Corporation

Tori Gass, Communications and Public Relations, 416-903-4037, [email protected]; 24-hour media line: 416-903-6845, [email protected]

Related Links

http://www.torontohydro.com