Fallen Trees Delaying B.E.L.’s Restoration of Power

There is a six-step process that is undertaken by the utility company to see that power producers are restored, transmission lines repaired and substations brought back online for power to reach local distribution lines. Thereafter, power is restored to essential services and facilities, followed by large service areas or neighbourhoods and then individual homes. But there have been issues with trees tangled in power lines.

Vonetta Burrell, Corporate Communications Manager, B.E.L.

Vonetta Burrell

“Preparation is key. One of the things that we try to advise the public often, maybe we need to do it more, please be mindful of where you plant trees. Please make sure that you are manicuring your trees, you’re trimming your trees, you are keeping them from growing into power lines. Please do not plant trees directly under power lines or near to power lines because they do grow – they grow up and grow out and they become hazards. And just so you know tree branches making contact with power lines is the most frequent cause of outages during regular times. So that’s one thing that we are hoping that we can mitigate with more awareness and I think the storm also shows people that trees do a lot of damage.”

A comprehensive assessment continues to determine what needs to be repaired and whether there are any long-term damages.