MANITOULIN–A myriad of work being undertaken by Hydro One on Sunday, September 22 will see Manitoulin, including Birch Island, without power for much of that day.
According to information from Hydro One, power will be interrupted to the area from 8 am until 4 pm on September 22, affecting over 10,000 customers.
“As a Hydro One construction unit was scheduled to be in the area to change eight pole structures on the 115 tower line from Espanola to Manitoulin, we decided to take advantage of this and perform pole changes from the Birch Lake line into Killarney,” explained district manager Denis Fauvelle.
Mr. Fauvelle noted that there are poles that are in desperate need of replacing because of woodpecker damage however because pileated woodpeckers (the main source of the problem) are protected under Canada’s Migratory Birds Act and they are creatures of habit, Hydro One will keep the poles in place, which is why drivers will often see the old poles left beside the replacement poles, rather than removing them.
The new hydro poles are made of a fiberglass composite, which is made to last from 75 to 80 years, Mr. Fauvelle explained.
Hydro One will also be using this day to perform upgrades to the transformer station on Goat Island so it can accept the higher voltage anticipated to come in from the McLean’s Mountain wind farm.
For up-to-date power interruption information, visit www.hydroone.com and click on the power outages shortcut.
