More outages expected – be prepared

This article was published in December 2019 and may be outdated.

Trees are many things: living time capsules, air filters, decorations, places to play, and a distinctive and beautiful part of our province. They’re also a very common cause of power outages in Manitoba.

We do our best to be proactive about tree contact, but the province’s tree canopy was severely damaged by three days of heavy snow and wind in the October 2019 storm. Many of our trees just aren’t as strong as they once were.

Normally, tree contact with our power lines is responsible for about 25 per cent of the province’s power outages. But since the storm – which damaged over 30,000 trees in Winnipeg alone – we expect that number to increase as we get more snow and wind this winter.

So what can you do?

We do our best to make sure you have reliable power all the time, and we work as quickly and safely as possible to get it back on when it goes out. But like the Boy Scouts always say, it’s not a bad idea to always be prepared.

Prepare in advance for a power outage:

  • Have an emergency kit and make sure the whole family knows where it is and what’s in it. Can you find your kit in the dark?
  • Have a safe way of cooking – like using a barbecue outside – if your appliances don’t function.
  • Have you thought about what you’d do if a power outage lasts longer than a few hours? Do you have a plan where you can go if you need to leave your house? A hotel? A family member’s house? A friend’s apartment?

The best plan starts with having a good emergency kit.

An emergency kit contains:

  • Candles and matches;
  • A flashlight with extra batteries;
  • A portable radio with extra batteries;
  • Bottled water;
  • Food that doesn’t require cooking like granola bars, crackers, canned salmon, canned fruit, peanut butter;
  • A manual can opener;
  • Blankets and other things to keep you warm (sweaters, thick socks, etc.);
  • A portable power bank to keep your mobile device charged. Make sure you’ve charged up the power bank before the power goes out.

Learn more about preparing for outages and check out our video “Putting Together an Emergency Safety Kit”.