Power restored to homes in Dartmouth area after widespread outage

Power has been restored to homes and businesses after a widespread outage in Dartmouth, Cole Harbour, Eastern Passage and surrounding communities affected thousands of Nova Scotia Power customers Thursday.

At the peak of the power outage, more than 22,000 Nova Scotia Power customers were off the grid, with most outages reported in the Dartmouth area. There were a few smaller outages reported in other parts of the province Thursday.

That number dropped to 2,946 by 12:20 p.m. and only 51 customers were without power as of 5 p.m.

Fifteen schools in Dartmouth, Cole Harbour, Eastern Passage and surrounding communities dismissed students early Thursday morning due to the ongoing outage. The schools remained closed for the day.

In an email, a spokesperson for Nova Scotia Power said the outage at the Dartmouth East substation started around 4 a.m. as a result of “transmission interruption caused by damaged equipment.”

According to Nova Scotia Power's outage map, some of the smaller outages in the area were due to "salt contamination."

The outage turned many busy intersections into four-way stops, making for stop-and-go traffic during the morning commute.

Nova Scotia Health said community-based mental health and addictions offices were temporarily closed at Cole Harbour Place and the Dartmouth Community site on Portland Street. However, virtual services were still available.