WINNIPEG - Manitoba Hydro has fully restored electrical service to all customers in Cross Lake/Pimicikamak, as of 1:30 p.m. Utility crews completed repairs to the downed transmission line serving the community Thursday afternoon.
The utility began re-energizing customers throughout the community Thursday afternoon in stages to avoid overloading the system and potentially damaging equipment. Electric furnaces and other equipment can draw heavy current when they first come on in cold weather.
Power was restored to about 75 percent of customers by the end of Thursday night and the remainder were re-energized today.
Power was off in the community since Sunday night. Manitoba Hydro supplied a large generator to restore power to a water treatment plant, and eight generators to power eight heavy duty heaters for the community’s use during the outage.
”Thank you to our customers in Cross Lake/Pimicikamak for their patience and understanding as we worked to restore service during this prolonged outage,” said Hal Turner, Manitoba Hydro’s Chief Operating Officer.
More than 20 Manitoba Hydro employees, along with contactors and local support staff, have been working in the community during the power outage, both on the repair to the line and on the re-energization process.
“I want to also thank all of the Manitoba Hydro employees and others who took time out of their holiday season to safely complete this difficult repair in such cold temperatures,” Turner said.
“The safety of our employees and customers is always our first priority. We know the pressure our crews often face when dealing with prolonged outages, and their commitment to working safely in these situations needs to be recognized,” Turner said.
With the community now fully energized, staff will continue to monitor equipment at the Cross Lake substation as it returns to normal operation.
For more information, please contact:
Peter Chura, Media Relations Officer
431-323-4511
pchura@hydro.mb.ca
