Most P.E.I. residents without power two days after Fiona
Tens of thousands of Islanders are still without power two days after Fiona battered Prince Edward Island.
At last count, about 75,000 homes and businesses are without electricity. To put that in perspective, there’s only about 160,000 people living on P.E.I.
Ten thousand customers have had power restored since the height of the storm, including 4,500 customers Monday morning. However, the focus remains on critical areas.
“The assessments are still ongoing, and will go into the days, but certainly we’re prioritizing the needs of our critical infrastructure sites,” said Tanya Mullally, PEI Emergency Measures Organization Director. “Such as hospitals, schools, grocery stores, gas stations, to make sure that they’re powered up.”
There are 89 crews in the field. That number is expected to grow to 107 by Wednesday.
According to Maritime Electric spokesperson Kim Griffin, this is the biggest restoration effort in the history of the utility, worse than even Hurricane Juan.
“But the sheer devastation on Prince Edward Island, I’m not sure if others can match that, with all due respect, said Griffin. “I think that the significant amount of damage that we’ve had across the province is the worst storm I’ve ever seen.”
A small silver lining, major infrastructure, like transmission lines and substations, seem to have fared better than in Dorian.
However, there is still no timeline on when regular residential neighbourhoods will see power return.
“The sheer magnitude of the trees that are down on our lines, our crews are sometimes having problems just trying to access the different sites as it is,” said Griffin.
Comfort centres are open across province. The weather is relatively mild, so most people are using the centres to recharge devices and connect to Wi-Fi.
“The top priority right now is getting the lights back on,” said Darlene Compton, P.E.I. Public Safety Minister. “That’s the backbone of when we can make significant progress in getting a province back on its feet.”
Power outages are now the biggest drivers of fuel shortages on the island. Though power was returned to a major fuel depot in Charlottetown Sunday, many gas stations are still without power, so there just aren’t enough places to get fuel.
Along with those power outages come problems with cell service and with data coverage. Maritime Electric says there’s a specific plan to focus on restoring power to cell towers to get cell coverage and data coverage back up as soon as possible.
Cell coverage on the island is still spotty, but there is a noticeable difference from Sunday to Monday.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
Disappointment widespread over budget's proposed $200-month disability benefit funding
Advocacy groups across Canada are expressing widespread disappointment about the amount of funding earmarked in the 2024 federal budget for the long-awaited Canada Disability Benefit.
BREAKING Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter banned from NBA
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter has been handed a lifetime ban from The National Basketball Association (NBA) following an investigation which found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors, the league says.
Earthquake jolts southern Japan
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.4 hit southern Japan late on Wednesday, said the Japan Meteorological Agency, without issuing a tsunami warning.
ArriveCan contractor to be admonished by MPs in extraordinarily rare parliamentary display
Enacting an extraordinarily rarely used parliamentary power, MPs have summoned an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons on Wednesday afternoon to be admonished publicly for failing to answer their questions.
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
Gas prices across Ontario expected to climb to levels not seen since 2022, analyst says
Ontario is going to see a big jump at the pumps later this week as gas prices in the province hit levels not seen in nearly two years, according to one industry analyst.
Ancient skeletons unearthed in France reveal Mafia-style killings
More than 5,500 years ago, two women were tied up and probably buried alive in a ritual sacrifice, using a form of torture associated today with the Italian Mafia, according to an analysis of skeletons discovered at an archeological site in southwest France.
Paul McCartney and John Lennon’s sons have released a single together
A new Lennon and McCartney collaboration is the last thing anybody expected.