Power outages in central, eastern Ontario due to weather

TORONTO – Hydro One says high winds, freezing rain and heavy snow that started late Tuesday night in areas throughout central and eastern Ontario are causing electricity outages across its distribution system.

The utility was reporting more than 13,000 customers were affected by outages late Wednesday afternoon.

It says Hydro One crews are out assessing damage and restoring power to customers where it is safe to do so.

Hydro One COO Greg Kiraly says tree contact accounts for more than 30 per cent of the outages.

Kiraly says this type of weather can cause trees to fall on lines and damage equipment and warns people to stay 10 metres away from any fallen power lines.