A rural Northumberland business owner expresses frustration with Hydro One over ice storm response times
Image of ice storm damage near Ste. Anne's Spa. Courtesy of Jim Corcoran.
By: Dan Jones, Northumberland 89.7 FM News, Local Journalism Initiative.
A rural hotel and hospitality owner in Northumberland County is calling for more accountability from Hydro One in the wake of a major early spring ice storm, which left his business without power for five-days.
Jim Corcoran, owner and general manager of Ste. Anne’s Spa addressed Northumberland County’s Economic Development Committee Wednesday suggesting the response times from the utility are unacceptable.
He attributes that to Cobourg no longer having a dispatch unit, as crews were relocated to Peterborough. Corcoran asserts that not having a response crew locally has caused delays in getting hydro power restored.
“We pay our bills. There was no compensation, no accountability, there was no public hearing. It's as though this never happened,” Corcoran explained.
The ice storm of late March caused down trees and powerlines to many parts of Ontario. Rural areas were hit harder, while hydro crews from within the province and elsewhere focused much of their efforts on restoring power to more populous, urban areas.
Some residents were without electricity for one week or more. Corcoran also takes issue with the amount of vegetation and tree growth around hydro lines, stating this also poses a threat for increased outages.
He told county mayors that he has been in contact with Hydro One regarding powerline concerns near or on his property, wanting the utility to clear the impacted area, adding he is having issues getting that work performed.
The financial impact to small businesses in Grafton and other rural areas are greatly affected by power outages, he explained. Since March Corcoran has increased his generator capacity for his business, knowing that it will most likely need to be used on a yearly basis.
But he cautioned that not all small businesses have the ability to upgrade or purchase generators. He is asking the County to advocate for a local response crew, suggesting that Lakefront Utilities in Cobourg take over in Northumberland County.
Yet Cramahe Township Mayor Mandy Martin, countered stating that Lakefront Utilities does not have the capacity to handle the workload of the County.
While she does take issue with response times in the wake of the storm, her main concern was from a lack of communication from Hydro One itself, in notifying communities of when crews will be in the area or how long municipalities have to wait. She said this created a logistical nightmare in trying to provide relief to affected residents, but also prepare for when crews would arrive.
“The information that was being conveyed wasn’t topical enough, wasn’t local enough for us to plan and respond. If you knew that the response wasn’t going to be for another three or four days you could plan around that,” Martin stated.
Dwyane Campbell, the Director Economic Development and Planning for Northumberland County said he has heard from framers their concerns regarding long power outages impacting their operations. The committee voted to take an advocacy role in helping rural Northumberland County address hydro power loss issues.
