For the third time in less than a year, Alectra Utilities has sent crews to the United States to assist in power restoration efforts following an extreme weather event.
A contingent of 35 powerline staff and supervisors left Alectra’s St. Catharines operation centre early Sunday morning in a convoy of service vehicles heading towards the Philadelphia and eastern Pennsylvania area. They will be assisting the local utility, PECO, in restoring power to customers following a severe nor’easter that swept across the U.S. northeast, knocking out power to over two million homes and businesses.
Last March, following a windstorm in the Rochester, New York area, Alectra crews assisted the local utility in restoring power to their customers and then later in September, Alectra powerline technicians travelled to Georgia to lend a helping hand following the devastation left by Hurricane Irma.
The costs incurred by Alectra Utilities for crews and service trucks to travel and work while in the eastern Pennsylvania area will be borne by PECO.
Alectra Utilities is a member of the North Atlantic Mutual Assistance Group , which encompasses all of the U.S. northeast, as well as Canadian utilities in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, one of seven regional electricity mutual assistance groups that operate in North America.
The power system is an interconnected network and restoring service to the grid goes faster when utilities can share resources to make the necessary repairs. Utilities address these resource constraints by using mutual assistance programs that allow companies to pool resources to meet their shared needs during emergency events.
"The nor’easter caused a tremendous amount of property damage and hardship for residents along the northeastern coast of the U.S.," explained Max Cananzi, President, Alectra Utilities Corporation. "Our thoughts are with the people and communities who are suffering through the aftermath of this severe weather event and we will do our utmost to help restore service to those who have been so seriously impacted."
