Dozens of homes in a newly built subdivision in Arnprior have thousands of dollars worth of damage after multiple power outages fried their appliances.
Everyone in the Marshall’s Bay Meadows subdivision on Madawaska Boulevard moved in less than a year ago. Local resident Mike Newton says he lost several appliances.
“We lost our furnace, our air conditioner, our dishwasher and some lights in the house,” Newton told CTV News.
“I’ve heard that people have lost as much as their hot tubs and refrigerators, so there’s been significant damage to people’s property.”
At least three town-wide power cuts occurred in Arnprior between Sunday night and Monday night.
Many in the area point to a potential explosion at a nearby power pole. First home owner Jake Dunn backs his property on Madawaska Boulevard where the hydro poles are located.
“It sounded like two gunshots,” Dunn recalled. “The power went off once, came back on, went off again and then I looked out my back window and it looked like there were fireworks going off over one of the hydro lines. Sparks were flying everywhere.”
Dunn is in a similar situation to Newton, his furnace and air conditioner are fried.
“When I called yesterday to make the appointment, they said I was about the 37th house in the neighborhood to have this problem,” says Dunn.
“It’s a brand new neighborhood, it shouldn’t be anything to worry about.”
Homeowners are being told to reimburse their appliances through insurance, with power outages and power surges being described as an act of God.
Now questions are being raised after the town lost power three times in the space of twenty-four hours.
“The city is a Hydro One customer, just like everyone else here,” said City Councilwoman Lisa McGee.
“It’s almost impossible to come up with any solutions without understanding what happened in the first place.”
In a statement to CTV News, Hydro One said Sunday night’s power outage, affecting approximately 7,090 people, was caused by a broken cross frame on a main power line.
Monday afternoon’s outage, affecting an estimated 12,380 people, is still under investigation.
Newton says he’s been told his appliances could take weeks to repair, replacements even longer.
“I’ve lived in Pakenham, Almonte and Braeside,” he says, “and I’ve never had an outage like this.”
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