10,000 customers without power in Manitoba; may not be restored until Friday

WINNIPEG -

About 10,000 customers in Manitoba are without power due to storm-related issues Thursday afternoon, and some may not have service restored until Friday.

Bruce Owen, a spokesperson for Manitoba Hydro, said many of the outages are in Manitoba’s Interlake and Selkirk areas.

He added he does not know how long the customers will be experiencing the issues, but said the outages could last into Friday for some customers.

“Part of our problem is given the roads, we’re no different than anybody else travelling on the roads,” he said.

“In the areas we need to start putting in new poles to restore people, we’ve got to get digger equipment, bucket trucks and people to operate them, plus the materials to site. This will take a little bit of time.”

Owen noted the Crown corporation is dealing with a number of storm-related issues in the Interlake and Selkirk areas, including the east beaches of Lake Winnipeg.

“This wet clingy snow, in some areas is clinging to power lines. Because it’s so moisture-laden and heavy, lines are coming down and some poles are snapping, causing obvious issues,” he explained.

Thursday evening, Manitoba Hydro tweeted that another outage happened in southwest Winnipeg.

Hydro said around 1,500 customers are affected. No timetable was given for when this situation will be fixed.

Owen said crews from around Manitoba are responding to the outages.

“The issue is, of course, getting to these areas. In the rural areas it’s a little tougher, because of the road conditions,” he said.

“Areas where poles are snapped, we’ve got to get new poles into these areas as well.”

Owen said Hydro recognizes that it is frustrating to be without power, especially for an extended period of time.

He urges those who still have service to visit the emergency preparedness section of the Manitoba Hydro website and start putting together an emergency kit.