The record-setting storm may be over, but many Manitobans are still picking up the pieces.
Manitoba Hydro said preliminary cost estimates for the repairs from the storm are over $100 million.
Hydro’s Bruce Owen told 680 CJOB that the extensive cleanup efforts continue, which includes trying to get the power back on for less than 1,500 customers across the province – an effort Owen said is still going to take some time.
“Our focus now is on getting the last remaining customers up and back in their own homes, particularly in our Indigenous communities,” he said.
“Now we have to turn our attention to fixing our transmission system that was damaged. That’s going to take weeks, if not months to complete.”
Owen said a lot of the lines that are still down are in hard-to-reach areas – and that current weather conditions aren’t making Hydro’s job any easier.
“What’s going to probably slow us down is we’ve got some rain and some wind moving into the area. We’ll continue to work, but it’ll slow us down a bit. “
Further complicating things is election day, and many storm-displaced Manitobans and Hydro workers are nowhere near their regular polling stations.
“Elections Canada has brought 22 people in to help us do this,” said Owen.
“There’s two polls, one at Portage and Southport and another at our temporary camp at Lundar, so we’ll rotate crews through who want to vote.”