Storm: 3,000 Hydro Ottawa customers still without power


President and CEO of Hydro Ottawa, Bryce Conradexplained that the teams on the ground are stubborn day after day at new complicationsamong other things by wanting to repair small groups of customers in the sectors ofAlta Vista, Manor Park and Overbrook over the past few hours.

Mr. Conrad detailed that his employees discovered damaged transformers and that they had to call in tall cranes to repair fallen poles in the yards of citizens.

A map.

In red, the areas without electricity at the height of the May 21 storm. All neighborhoods have been affected, as the mayor of Ottawa said.

Photo: Screenshot

Proof that the reconnection operation is progressing by leaps and bounds: Hydro Ottawa was able to post its interactive map again on its website, showing the number of power outages in real time. This tool had to be withdrawn since the number of customers affected was too high to provide real figures.

During the conference, he revealed the repair costs since May 21: between 25 and 30 million dollars. A bill which, it should be remembered, will be covered by the Government of Ontario, as assured by the outgoing Premier Doug Ford last week.

A patience that has its limits

During the press briefing, almost all the representatives of the municipal authorities showed empathy towards the citizens still without electricity.

We understand your frustration. I know it’s not easysaid Mayor Jim Watson.

Rest assured that we will be visiting you in the next few days.promised Alain Gonthier, Director General of Public Works for the City of Ottawa.

We appreciate the patience of the 3,000 customers without electricity. We are empathetic. We work as hard as possible. All our resources are used. We will continue to put all our strength to meet the challengeasserted Bryce Conrad.

Mayor Jim Watson with a Hydro Ottawa employee.

Mayor Jim Watson has made his presence felt on the ground since the storm began (files).

Photo: Radio-Canada / Jean Delisle

Financial aid: what is the limit of a city?

Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson said on Tuesday that 2,500 citizens have filed a request for financial assistance from the City, in particular because of the loss of food caused by the power outage.

Although determined to help his fellow citizens as much as possible, Jim Watson admitted that there is a limit to which a City can absorb the financial losses of Ottawans.

The program is focused on helping primarily those who need it most, not all homeowners. This is not possible for a Cityexplained the mayor.

The city said it is using existing social assistance policies tailored to the emergency to assess financial need and determine if city programs can help replace essential items like lost medications.

The role of insurance

Since the storm, there has been a lot of talk about what an insurance company will be able to pay, or not, to affected citizens. To this, the manager of technical affairs and the information center at the Insurance Bureau of Canada, Line Crevier, clarified that to trigger the coverage of an insurance contract, it takes damage to tangible property. If it’s not the case, it’s not covered.

For example, if a tree falls on a house, the damage to the house will be covered. It will also cover the costs for relocation and food if we cannot stay at home. It has to be related to the damage, not just the electrical failure.

Let’s say the insurer agrees to pay the costs, he could perhaps agree to pay for a generator to stay at home, rather than paying for the hotelshe gave as an example. But in the contract there is no protection where [un assureur] says he’s paying for gas or a generator. It doesn’t exist, but we can always discuss certain arrangements with our insurer.

Trees on a car.

At Carleton Place, you could still see the damage from the passage of the storm on May 24 (archives).

Photo: The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick

The point in Outaouais and Eastern Ontario

In the Outaouais, the vast majority of Hydro-Québec customers have also been able to reconnect with the power.

At the height of the storm, there were 120,000 citizens without power. Tuesday afternoon, they were only 2197, including 136 in Gatineau.

In the eastern region ofHydro Onethe number of citizens affected is 90.

With information from Charles Lalande, Fiona Collienne and CBC



Reference-ici.radio-canada.ca

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