Veridian crews work through the night and restore service to 15,000 customers Restoration efforts continue with 12,000 customers still without power

AJAX, ON, Dec. 23, 2013 /CNW/ - Veridian emergency response crews continue to make good progress in restoring power to customers in Durham Region and Port Hope. Over the past several hours, service was restored to approximately 15,000 homes and businesses in Ajax, Bowmanville, Newcastle, Pickering and Port Hope. About 12,000 customers continue to be without power as a result of the devastating ice storm of Saturday night and early Sunday morning.

The remaining customer outages are primary located in the heavily treed areas of west Pickering, Claremont, south Ajax, Bowmanville, Newcastle and Port Hope.

Additional lines and tree clearing crews have been brought in from Tillsonburg, Peterborough and Belleville. More than 20 work crews will be focused on the remaining affected areas during the course of the day. "With the reduced number of affected customers and the increased number of crews at work, we're optimistic that good progress will be made today", said Michael Angemeer, Veridian's President and CEO.

Projected restoration times are currently unavailable. Customers still without power are encouraged to contact and make use of the Warming Centres that have been set-up at the following locations:

• Ajax Community Centre, 75 Centennial Rd., 905-427-8811
• Bowmanville: Garnet B. Rickard Recreation Complex, 2440 Regional Hwy. 2, 905-623-5728
• Pickering: Pickering Recreation Complex, 1867 Valley Farm Rd., 905-683-6582

Customers are reminded to exercise extreme caution around damaged poles and downed wires. All fallen wires should be considered live and dangerous. Customers are urged to report the locations of fallen wires to Veridian's 24-hour Outage Hotline by calling 1-866-579-6819.

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Veridian Connections Inc. safely and reliably delivers electricity to more than 116,000 customers in the Cities of Pickering and Belleville, the Towns of Ajax, Port Hope and Gravenhurst, and the communities of Uxbridge, Bowmanville, Newcastle, Orono, Port Perry, Beaverton, Sunderland and Cannington. Veridian Connections Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Veridian Corporation. The City of Pickering, the Town of Ajax, the Municipality of Clarington and the City of Belleville jointly own Veridian Corporation.

SOURCE: Veridian

Chris Mace
Sales & PR Representative - Corporate Communications
Veridian Connections Inc.
905-427-9870, extension 2218