$30 million bill to reconnect hydro after storm
The May 21 storm has cost Hydro Ottawa $25-$30 million, more than five times what the 2018 tornadoes cost, CEO Bryce Conrad says.
Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Conrad delivered the first preliminary estimate of the cost of the damage to Ottawa’s power grid following the derecho that smashed into Ottawa with winds of up to 190 km/h 10 days ago.
He stressed that this is the estimated cost to Hydro Ottawa alone, and that capital expenses are likely the bulk of the bill.
“We are thankful, obviously, that the premier has agreed to cover these costs and we’ll obviously roll these costs up into the final bill the city submits,” Conrad said.
Conrad said 98 per cent of customers who lost power in the storm have been reconnected, but there remained 3,000 customers still without power as of Tuesday afternoon, in pockets across the city.
Newly discovered damage and equipment needs are some of the issues slowing down recovery, Conrad said.
“In some of the harder hit areas, a lot of the equipment is actually in the back yards of residences. As we get in and do that backyard work to pick up eight or 10 people, we’re finding that instead of simply needing to replace a pole, the transformer’s crushed or something’s happened to it,” he explained. “So, we need to pivot and replace that. It just takes longer than it otherwise would.”
He also said that large cranes are sometimes required to move poles into place around obstacles, which also takes extra time.
Hydro Ottawa brought its outage map back online Monday night to offer an estimated restoration time for residents who are still without power. Conrad stressed these estimates are based on the information they have, but the situation is fluid and dynamic and new damage is sometimes discovered.
He also acknowledged that some other residents who’ve had power restored have experienced new outages.
“Let me assure you, we are not doing any planned work at the moment. All work, all efforts are focused on storm restoration,” he said.
More than 8,000 customers in Stittsville and Kanata lost power Monday night, and several customers in the Parkway Park area in Nepean lost power Tuesday morning. Conrad said this occurred as storm damaged infrastructure failed.
“What we found last night was a piece of infrastructure that was severely damaged and compromised by the storm. We had crews working on site and saw the switch fail so we were able to effect repairs fairly quickly,” he explained, saying a similar issue was behind the outage Tuesday morning.
“We are completely cognizant of the fact that residents are traumatized by this particular event,” he added. “Do we expect more of this? The system is going to be sensitive for the next week or two until it works itself in, but once we’re beyond that, we should be fine.”
SCHOOLS
Five schools remain without power, three in the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and two in the Ottawa Catholic School Board.
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board says Merivale, Brookfield, and Bell high schools will remain closed Tuesday because they have no power. Students will be learning remotely. Castor Valley Elementary School will continue with remote learning on Tuesday, but will re-open for in person learning on Wednesday.
The Ottawa Catholic School Board says Sacred Heart and St. Monica schools remain without power. Virtual learning in the catholic board began Monday.
Schools with electricity are open as normal.
COMMUNITY SUPPORT CENTRES
Four community support centres remain open this week, operating from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. The centres will have information related to general insurance, housing and financial services, building and demolition permit requirements and processes, public health, psychosocial support, and more.
In addition, each location will provide access to charging stations for electronic devices, showers, and washrooms.
They are at:
- CARDELREC Recreation Complex Goulbourn (1500 Shea Road)
- François Dupuis Recreation Complex(2263 Portobello Boulevard)
- Howard Darwin Centennial Arena (1765 Merivale Road)
- Hunt Club-Riverside Park Community Centre (3320 Paul Anka Drive)
The Howard Darwin Centennial Arena and the Hunt Club-Riverside Park Community Centre will also have food available until 7 p.m. Wednesday.
STORM DEBRIS
The city has asked residents to place any storm debris at the end of their driveways or at the curb for pickup, though officials caution that the full cleanup could take weeks or even months.
The city is collecting both organic debris, such as tree branches, and non-organic items like shingles blown off roofs or other building materials. Organic and non-organic debris should be kept separate.
Ensure any debris set out for collection is not blocking any sidewalks, paths, roadways or fire hydrants. Smaller yard waste can be put in yard waste bags, as usual. Glass and other sharp items should be wrapped up and labelled to protect workers.
“Dedicated clean-up crews will pick up this debris as they move through the city; this may not be according to your regular collection schedule. The crews may need extra time to collect all the items, so please be patient and leave these items at the roadside,” the city said in a public service announcement.
The Trail Waste Facility, at 4475 Trail Rd., is open Monday to Friday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. and will be open Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tipping fees for residents with storm-related materials will be waived.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Parents of infant who died in wrong-way crash on Ontario's Hwy. 401 were in same vehicle
Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit has released new details about a wrong-way collision in Whitby on Monday night that claimed the lives of four people.
Three Quebec men from same family father hundreds of children
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
B.C. mayor stripped of budget, barred from committees over Indigenous residential schools book
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
OPP's mandatory alcohol screening during traffic stops 'not acceptable': CCLA
A spike in impaired driving-related collisions has caused Ontario’s provincial police to begin enforcing mandatory alcohol screening (MAS) at all traffic stops in the Greater Toronto Area -- a move one civil rights group says is ‘not acceptable.’
Maple Leafs down Bruins 2-1 to force Game 7
William Nylander scored twice and Joseph Woll made 22 saves as the Toronto Maple Leafs downed the Boston Bruins 2-1 on Thursday to force Game 7 in their first-round series.
Jurors in Trump hush money trial hear recording of pivotal call on plan to buy affair story
Jurors in the hush money trial of Donald Trump heard a recording Thursday of him discussing with his then-lawyer and personal fixer a plan to purchase the silence of a Playboy model who has said she had an affair with the former president.
Southern Alberta store broken into by burly black bear
Staff at a small southern Alberta office supply store were shocked to find someone had broken into the business last week, but they were even more confused when they discovered the culprit was a bear.
Captain sentenced to 4 years for criminal negligence in fiery deaths of 34 aboard scuba boat
A federal judge on Thursday sentenced a scuba dive boat captain to four years in custody and three years supervised release for criminal negligence after 34 people died in a fire aboard the vessel.
New scam targets Canada Carbon Rebate recipients
Fake text message and email campaigns trying to get money and information out of unsuspecting Canadian taxpayers have started circulating, just months after the federal government rebranded the carbon tax rebate the Canada Carbon Rebate.