WINNIPEG — More than 1,000 customers were without power Tuesday after a planned 30-minute power outage extended into the evening.
Manitoba Hydro announced the planned outage for 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The outage was to switch the feeder for customers in the Elmwood area to prevent future unplanned outages.
It was later postponed to 3 p.m. and was expected to affect 1,176 customers.
Bruce Owens, a spokesperson with Manitoba Hydro said a main breaker was tripped while workers were preparing to switch Elmwood customers to the new feeder. To restore power, crews had to access the Rover Station in Point Douglas. Owens said working in the old station building could be dangerous due to asbestos and the age of the structure.
Hydro started restoring service “gradually.” According to a tweet from Manitoba Hydro just before 8:30 p.m. the power was restored.
The temperature is expected to hover around -20 C with a windchill making it feel like -33 C.
Many have taken to social media during the outage.