This story has been updated to clarify that workers travelled to P.E.I. on November 29 rather than the previously stated date of November 6. Cornwall Seaway News apologizes for any confusion.
PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND, Canada – Employees of Cornwall Electric are set to return home on Saturday, Dec. 8 after venturing to P.E.I. on Nov. 29 where they helped to restore power following an intense winter storm.
It was reported that between 51,000 and 80,000 customers of Maritime Electric were without power following the storm. All power has since been restored.
“Cornwall Electric received a call from the P.E.I. electric utility – Maritime Electric – Thursday evening Nov. 6 in a despaired need for help to restore power after a powerful winter storm battered the East Coast…creating massive power outages to the Island,” said Jackie Baird, Regional Manager with Cornwall Electric.
“I’m very proud of our team at Cornwall Electric and their dedication to our customers,” she added.
Baird explained that Cornwall Electric is an owned subsidiary of Fortis Ontario, and Fortis Ontario is wholly owned by Fortis Inc. Fortis Inc. owns and operates 10 unities in five Canadian provinces, nine U.S. states and three Caribbean countries – including Maritime Electric. Cornwall Electric has been a part of restoration projects in the past, even assisting with restoration efforts in the Turks and Caicos Islands after a hurricane in 2017.
“With hundreds of thousands of customers without power on the East Coast (in early November) and unable to get help from neighboring provinces, they were reaching out to Cornwall Electric for help,” said Baird. “Fortis teams will reach out to their partners when they are in times of devastating situations.”
Four Powerline Technicians and three trucks travelled to P.E.I. from Cornwall. A total of nine Fortis Ontario workers, with the help of Island Utility, worked to replace broken poles and restring broken or fallen power lines. Some workers persevered through conditions with more than 30 cm of snow and winds up to 100 km/h. Fortis Ontario had another five employees from their other Local Distribution Companies located in Sault St. Marie and Fort Erie joined the Cornwall Electric employees.
“We received a thank you from the President and CEO of Maritime Electric…expressing his deepest gratitude for the support Fortis Ontario,” said Baird.
