Ontario Heavy Winds Cut Power to 450,000 Hydro One Customers

The utility had restored power to all but 115,000 customers as of Saturday as workers repaired more than 200 broken poles as well as 53 damaged transformers, downed power lines and fallen trees caused after winds of more than 100 kilometers (62 miles) an hour blew through parts of the province on Saturday, the company said in a release on its website.

As the damage is fully assessed, the company said it anticipates some customers could be without power beyond Monday.

The province contains a number of critical oil refineries, chemical plants and pipelines. Emails to Ontario refinery operators including Imperial Oil Ltd., Royal Dutch Shell Plc as well as pipeline operator Enbridge Inc. weren’t immediately returned. Suncor Energy Inc. operator of a refinery in Sarnia, Ontario, declined to comment on the status of its plant when contacted by email.

The damaging wind also caused power cuts to about 400,000 people in neighboring Quebec with the areas of Montérégie, Laurentides and Outaouais most affected, Hydro Quebec reported. As of Sunday morning, about 70% of the customers affected by the outages had their power restored.