Over 48,000 customers still waiting for power to be restored in N.S. and P.E.I.

More than 48,000 customers were still without power in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island Sunday around 3:30 p.m., eight days after post-tropical storm Fiona hit Atlantic Canada, according to Nova Scotia Power and Maritime Electric outage maps.

On Saturday, the federal government announced it approved requests for federal assistance from the provincial governments of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador.

The move will see additional support provided by the Canadian Armed Forces, Canadian Coast Guard, and Transport Canada to assist with tree and debris removal, roadwork, aerial imagery and mapping of damage and accommodation supports.

In an email to CTV News, a spokesperson for Canada’s defence minister said an additional 200 armed forces members are deploying to Nova Scotia Sunday, bringing the total number of troops on the ground to roughly 550.

The department spokesperson did not specify how many personnel are deploying to P.E.I., nor Newfoundland and Labrador.

NOVA SCOTIA

As of 3:30 p.m., more than 27,200 Nova Scotia Power customers did not have electricity, according to the utility’s outage map.

It showed more than 1,000 customers were without power in the service areas of Stellarton, Truro, Sydney, Amherst and Goshen.

“We are working very much at the community level right now,” said Lia MacDonald, Northeast Emergency Operations Centre Lead for NS Power in a release Sunday. “Given the extent of the damage crews still face, we expect customers, particularly those in the northeast region, and some in Cape Breton, will see their estimated restoration times change.”

At the peak of power outages following Fiona, roughly 415,000 customers did not have power.

“This has been tough on customers, that isn’t lost on us. Our dedicated crews continue to work in the areas hardest hit,” said Mark Sidebottom, Cape Breton Emergency Operations Centre Lead for NS Power in a release.

According to NS Power, over 500 people are on the ground in Cape Breton Sunday, including powerline technicians, forestry technicians, damage assessors and field support. The utility also says they have 100 crew members focused on power restorations between Main-a-dieu, Mira, to Forchu.

NS Power says 89 per cent of customers on Cape Breton Island have now had power restored.

PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND

As of 3:30 p.m., more than 21,500 Maritime Electric customers did not have power, according to the utility’s outage map.

The communities of Charlottetown, Cornwall and Stratford had the highest number of outages in the province.

One day after the post-tropical storm ripped through P.E.I., about 82,000 Maritime Electric customers were without power.