Veridian updates its community power outage status report

AJAX, ON, Dec. 23, 2013 /CNW/ - Since its last power outage status report of 12 noon, Veridian has secured the services of an additional six tree trimming crews who are currently on route from the Bracebridge area. They will augment existing crews currently working to clear and repair overhead lines damaged by ice laden trees. By later this afternoon, Veridian will have 17 lines crews and 10 tree trimming crews at work in areas affected by the ice storm of the past weekend.

Following is a community power outage status report as of 2 p.m. today:

Port Hope - Approximately 500 customers continue to be without service due to the loss of a supply feeder to a local transformer station. Work is underway to clear the line and restore service. It is projected that this will be completed by mid-afternoon today.

Bowmanville - All supply feeders have been restored, including supply to the Lakeridge Health hospital. There may still be some localized outages. Veridian customers in Bowmanville who are still without power should call 1-866-579-6819 to report the outage.

Newcastle - All of Veridian's 2,500 customers in Newcastle continue to be without service. Veridian service crews are currently patrolling lines to identify sections in need of repair. Crews previously working in Bowmanville have been re-deployed to Newcastle and will be augmented with three tree trimming crews that are en route from Bracebridge.

Orono - About 45 customers in Orono are currently without power. The cause of the problem has been identified. Crews will be dispatched to undertake repairs later today.

Ajax - Outages are concentrated in an area bounded by Highway #2 to the north, Lake Ontario to the south, Westney Road to the west and Lakeridge Rd. to the east. The area is supplied by six supply feeders, two of which have been restored. The remaining four serve approximately 6,400 customers. Two line crews and two tree clearing crews are at work to restore these feeders on a priority basis. These resources will be augmented later today with two line crews that are en route from Bracebridge.

The first priority is a feeder serving a customer with critical health care needs. This priority feeder serves customers located between Pickering Beach and Shoal Point Roads, south of Bayly Street.

Ajax residents who reside outside of the above geographic zone should call 1-866-579-6819 to report that they are without power.

Pickering - Known outages in Pickering are in the following areas:

• West Pickering - Approximately 6,000 customers in the area west of Dixie Road and between Highway #2 to Lake Ontario continue to be without service. The area is supplied by a Hydro One supply feeder from Scarborough. Veridian has patrolled its lines to ensure that they are clear and ready for service once Hydro One's supply is restored. Hydro One crews are working on the repair of a severed conductor on the Scarborough section of the supply feeder. Completion of the repair work is imminent.
  
  
• South-east Pickering - Approximately 1,000 customers, primarily businesses, are without power in the area bounded by Highway #401 to the north, Lake Ontario to the south, Brock Road to the west and Church Street to the east. Service crews are patrolling lines and assessing damage. An estimated restoration time is not available at this time.
  
  
• North Pickering - Approximately 2,500 customers in the communities of Claremont, Brougham, Green River, Greenwood and surrounding areas north of the third Concession are without service. Additional service crews will be deployed to these areas later today, including one tree trimming crew that is en route from Bracebridge. Estimated restoration times are not available at this time.
  
  
• Bay Ridges/Frenchman's Bay - Approximately 2,000 customers are without power in an area bounded by Sandy Beach Rd. to the east, Frenchman's Bay to the west, and Bayly Street to the north. Overhead lines in this area are currently being patrolled to identify areas in need of attention.
  
  
• Central Pickering - An identified problem has disrupted power to about 1,800 customers located north of Glenanna Road, between Dixie and Liverpool Roads. Lines crews will be dispatched to carry out repair work later today.
  
  
• Miscellaneous - Smaller scale outages have been reported near the intersections of Brock Road/Major Oaks Road and Brock Road/Kingston Road. Lines crews are investigating.

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