Summerside running on generators Thursday
Transmission from mainland interrupted
A winter wallop left most of the Island in the dark Thursday. Winds measured around 100 kilometres per hour and snow weighed heavy on branches and power lines. The City of Summerside’s power was out while issues in the main transmission line from New Brunswick were resolved. Pauline Dicy, municipal services coordinator, said the city’s generators were online and providing power to sections of the city for approximately 90 minutes at a time.
“It’s a tricky situation,” she said. “Mainly, it’s get your home warm and some warm food into your system and prepare.” Once the issue is addressed, Maritime Electric will be able to re-energize their grid and Summerside electricity services will come back online. Maritime Electric had 25 crews out beginning at 2:30 a.m. to get the power back and contract crews were brought in, said Kim Griffin.
Several power poles were broken along Route 2 in Summerside, forcing closure of the highway between the St. Eleanors Irving and the Central Street exit. Social media photos showed snapped poles across the province.
Griffin said having customers call in to tell Maritime Electric what they were seeing was a big help.
Wind on the Confederation Bridge was measured at 109 km/h at 1:29 p.m. Traffic was restricted, beginning at 1 a.m. All crossings with Northumberland Ferries Limited were cancelled, and schools, colleges and universities across the Island were closed.
Waste watch collections went ahead in East Prince but were cancelled in the rest of the province. The alternate date is Saturday, Dec. 1. The offices and disposal site were closed. SaltWire Network meteorologist Cindy Day forecasts the north wind will linger until midday Friday, giving way to a better start to the weekend. However, more precipitation is expected for Sunday.