Power restoration times are “broad estimate” at this point, says NSP

At a press conference in Dartmouth this morning, representatives of multiple different organizations addressed post-Dorian recovery.

“There's no doubt that this storm has had an impact on the province and the power system,” says Hutt, Nova Scotia Power CEO.

Hutt says that NSP is thankful to the emergency responders who are assisting them in clearing trees and debris away from power lines.

“The government, Department of National Defense, and EMO, and all of the partners [are] coming together to help us begin restoring power,” she says.

At the peak of the storm, over 400,000 customers in the province were without power. As of 1p.m. Sunday, that number is now down to 335,000.

“Last night, once the wind subsided and it was safe to do so, crews began their initial patrols to assess storm damage and they also began restoring power,” Hutt explained.

Those crews are continuing their assessment today within HRM, but also in more rural areas.

“We have been assisted by four helicopters that are in the air now surveying more remote locations of our power system,” Hutt adds, noting that there are over 1,000 personnel on the ground across the province.

The Nova Scotia Power online outage map is showing restoration times ranging from Sunday evening all the way through to Wednesday, September 11.

But Hutt says those times will be updated as more is known.

“At this time, we have broad estimated restoration times in place,” she says. “These will be refined as we gather more field-validated information and begin to have a better understanding of when we can give more specific times for customers.”

Power has already been restored to critical areas, including hospitals like the QEII.

“Our approach to restoring power is that we begin with critical areas. Certainly hospitals and care facilities are our initial priority,” Hutt explained during the press conference.

The utility will continue to prioritize larger outages first.

“Where we can get the largest amount of customers on first, that's where we work, and we continue to make out way through that,” says Hutt.

However, Hutt is warning Nova Scotians that there are still downed lines in many parts of the province, and crews are only working where it is safe to do so.

“Where there is a downed power line, do not take any chances at all,” she says. “Immediately call 911 and we will dispatch one of our crews to take care of it.”

Those with questions can check out the online outage centre, or call the customer care centre at 1-877-428-6004, which will be staffed 24/7 until all storm outages are repaired.