WINNIPEG – The Westman and Parkland regions of Manitoba will experience power outages Tuesday as hydro crews remove ice from lines in the area.
“Ice fog, misting and freezing rain over the past 24 to 48 hours have resulted in heavy accumulations of hoarfrost and ice on many lines, stressing overhead cables and associated hardware,” a news release from Manitoba Hydro said.
READ MORE: Manitoba RCMP advise against travel due to icy roads
Removing the ice will allow the provincially owned utility to avoid more serious damage that could cause longer, unplanned outages over Christmas, the release said.
RELATED: Current weather conditions
The scheduled outages are as follows:
• Minnedosa area — outages began at earlier today and all ice removal should be completed with full restoration expected by 6 p.m.
• Hamiota / Kenton areas — crews are working on the last line that feeds the area south towards Kenton. The outage began at approximately 2:45 p.m. and work should be complete with full restoration by 6:45 p.m.
• Virden area — two lines are scheduled for ice removal. The first powers approximately 100 customers due west of the town, while the second powers approximately 300 customers north of Cromer, including the town of Kola. The outages are both scheduled to begin at approximately 7:00 p.m. this evening and last until approximately 10:30 p.m. About half of the customers that will be affected are oil wells.
Manitoba Hydro asks the public to stay away from any downed power lines, and to call in any downed lines to our 24-hour emergency number: 1-888 MB-HYDRO (1-888-624-9376)
Manitoba Hydro has brought in extra staff from across southern Manitoba, including Winnipeg and the Interlake areas, to assist local crews with ice removal and power restoration efforts. Crews will continue to work into tomorrow as required.
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