Power outages do not occur very frequently and sometimes they cannot be helped. Severe weather such as high winds, thunderstorms and freezing rain can result in power outages, but these are not the only reasons you might experience an outage. Outages can be caused by accidents – such as when a vehicle collides with a hydro pole, or construction workers cut through an underground cable.

In preparation for a power outage, you should:

• Ensure you have a backup phone, such as a cell phone or a landline telephone phone, which is not dependent on electricity
• Plan to ensure the continuity of your electronically powered medical equipment. If your equipment comes with battery backup, remember to keep your battery charged and test it frequently
• Have pre-arranged emergency plans with family, friends, or neighbours, in case of a power outage
• Consider purchasing a backup generator

If your power goes out:

• Try to find out whether the power is out in your home only or throughout your neighbourhood by checking with your neighbours
• If power is out only in your home, turn off or disconnect major appliances, then check your fuse box or circuit breaker. If fuses have blown or circuits have switched themselves off, you may have overloaded that circuit. With your appliances or equipment off, replace the fuse or switch on the circuit breaker
• If power is out in your neighbourhood, turn off all major appliances.
• Call our emergency number at 1-866-978-2746 — 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
  • Outage calls received outside regular business hours (Monday to Friday; 8:30am – 4:00pm) will be rerouted to our After-Hours Call Centre.
  • During an outage, Call Centres experience a high volume of calls, which may result in a busy signal if all available lines are used, or you may be prompted to call back at a later time. At this point, the outage has been dispatched to our Operations Team for investigation.

Life Support Notification Program

If you or someone in your home depends on electrically powered medical equipment, such as a ventilator or home dialysis unit, please register for our Life Support Notification program. It should be noted that anyone requiring such a device should ensure they have a battery back up available at all times or have alternative arrangements in place in the event of a power outage. It is your responsibility to ensure you have a plan in place for electrical outages.

When you register for the program, we will do our best to notify you of planned power outages so you have time to prepare; your name and service address will be placed on our registry. If you no longer require Life Support notification, please call our Customer Service team to have your information removed from the registry.

To register, please call our office at 1-866-978-2746, you may be required to provide medical documentation as supporting evidence.

What To Do During a Power Interruption

• To prevent fires starting when electricity is restored, turn OFF or disconnect stove elements, ovens, kettles, frying pans, clothes irons, hair dryers, toasters, blenders, mixers etc.), and equipment (like air conditioners) or electronics you were using when the power went out.
• Leave the doors of your refrigerator and freezer closed as much as possible to keep your food as fresh as possible. If you must eat food that was refrigerated or frozen, check it carefully for signs of spoilage.
• Have at least one telephone (not cordless) that works during a power interruption.
• If it is hot outside, take steps to remain cool. Move to the lowest level of your home, as cool air falls. Wear lightweight, light coloured clothing. Drink plenty of water, even if you do not feel thirsty.
• If the heat is intense and the power may be off for a long time, consider going to a movie theatre, shopping mall, or “cooling shelter” that may be opened in your community.
• Remember to provide plenty of fresh, cool water for your pets.
• If it is cold outside, put on layers of warm clothing.
• Never burn charcoal for heating or cooking indoors.
• Never use your gas oven as a source of heat.
• If the power may be out for a prolonged period, plan to go to another location (relative, friend, or public facility) that has heat to keep warm.

Loss of Heat

When a building’s heating system is inoperative it may cause freezing of the following:

• water supplies
• sanitary systems
• fire sprinklers
• standpipe hose systems
• portable fire extinguishers

Heating and Cooking/Carbon Monoxide

• Carbon monoxide is produced by any device fueled by natural gas, propane, heating oil, kerosene, coal, charcoal, gasoline, or wood.
• Carbon monoxide is a colourless, odourless, tasteless gas that can be deadly.
• Devices that burn fuel require oxygen to burn properly and ventilation to remove the deadly products of combustion.

Generators

• Do not run a generator inside a home or garage.
• If you use a generator, connect the equipment you want to power directly to the outlets on the generator.
• Do not connect a generator to a home’s electrical panel or outlet.