TORONTO – Hydro One says power has been completely restored to Torontonian hydro customers following nearly 48 hours of outages and rolling blackouts.
Approximately 300,000 customers were affected by power outages throughout the city after Monday’s record-setting storm.
The Manby and Richview transmission stations in Etobicoke – which provide power to the area stretching from Highway 427 to the west, South Kingsway to the east, Bloor Street to the north and Horner Avenue to the south – had been down due to flooding since Monday.
But on Wednesday, service was restored to both stations.
Earlier in the day, Mayor Rob Ford renewed his call for people to conserve energy.
Ford said the efforts to conserve energy are especially urgent with more thunderstorms threatening to roll over the area Wednesday evening.
“If we get hit again tonight – you can’t control Mother Nature, so everyone just has to batten down the hatches and conserve energy,” Ford said. “We have to get the power back on.”
More rain could be bearing down on the Toronto area today with some severe thunderstorms forecasted.
A special weather statement was issued Wednesday warning thunderstorms could hit Toronto by mid-afternoon.
Ford said he hopes everything will be running normally by Friday.
Watch: Mayor Rob Ford urges Torontonians to conserve energy
And the CN Tower announced Wednesday that its LED lighting system will be decreased to support awareness of energy conservation.
Approximately 126 mm of rain fell in Toronto in total Monday, breaking the previous record of 121 mm that was set during Hurricane Hazel in October, 1954.
It’s unclear just how much repairs could cost the city but Ford warned Wednesday the total will be “enormous.”
“You can’t put a price on it right now. It’s going to be millions of dollars. I’m going to sit down with the police, find out what their numbers are, the TTC.”
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