Thousands are without power in downtown Toronto amid a Hydro One outage, and the utility says it’s “all ready” to determine the cause.
Hydro One spokeswoman Tiziana Bachega Rosa told CBC Toronto that the company is investigating reports that the outage was caused by a barge carrying an upright crane that came into contact with a high-voltage power line in the Port Lands, a mostly industrial area on Toronto’s waterfront.
The company says the outage began around 12:30 p.m. and is affecting Toronto Hydro customers in the downtown area.
There is no estimated recovery time yet.
UPDATE: Here’s a look at the transmission chain that was affected. We know this has made today extremely difficult for many of you and we appreciate your patience. We will continue to share more information as it becomes available. pic.twitter.com/Bw8uqXK06K
— @HydroOne
“We are all ready to find out the cause and get the power back on as quickly as possible,” Rosa said.
Toronto Hydro says the outage is affecting approximately 10,000 customers and that people and traffic lights may be affected in and around the following boundaries:
- North of Carlton Street south of Queens Quay East and York Street east of Bayview Avenue.
- North of The Esplanade south to Queens Quay East and Church Street east to Lower Jarvis Street.
Some downtown Toronto businesses are closed as they wait for power to be restored after a Hydro One power outage stranded about 10,000 people in the dark Thursday afternoon. (Simon Dingley/CBC)
Toronto fire officials say they have received at least a dozen elevator rescue calls across downtown as a result of the outage so far.
Shortly after 1 p.m., Immigration Minister Sean Fraser tweeted that he had gotten stuck in an elevator while traveling into the city.
I feel you. I came into town for the day – jumped in the elevator just before the power went out. Still here. Terrible moment. pic.twitter.com/8s4gcHRMan
—@SeanFraserMP
The outage left many businesses along Yonge Street and in the financial district closed until further notice.
“It was 12:39, we were working in the office and all of a sudden it went out,” said Santiago Orasco, who works at Scotia Plaza in downtown Toronto. “A bunch of people came out the emergency door with us.”
Several colleges and universities in the area have lost power, sending students and staff far from campus.
Metropolitan University of Toronto issued an alert around 1 p.m., advising the majority of people on campus to evacuate immediately, saying the outage could compromise some building safety systems, such as fire alarms and sprinkler systems.
All classes, labs or exams on the TMU campus are expected to be suspended during the evacuation. The school has advised employees to find an alternate place to work or rest nearby until the outage is resolved.
The George Brown College buildings on the St. James & Waterfront are closed and classes in attendance are cancelled. The downtown Seneca campus is also closed.
Kitchen staff wait outside a restaurant during a power outage in Toronto. (Chris Helgren/Reuters)
The TTC says customers may experience long delays on all downtown streetcar routes.
Metrolinx says there is currently no impact on PRESTO, GO Transit or UP Express service and Union Station is still at full capacity. It says it is monitoring the situation and will inform customers if services are affected. It also says there are backup generators if needed.
Police say the cause is unknown at this time and are reminding people to treat intersections as four-way stops if the traffic lights are not working.
The City of Toronto says it has closed St. Lawrence Market until power can be restored to protect the health and safety of people in city buildings where power is not stable.
The city says City Hall, Old City Hall, Union Station, 277 Victoria (Toronto Public Health) and 75-81 Elizabeth Street are still open to the public.
Toronto police help direct traffic during Hydro One power outage in downtown Toronto. (Simon Dingley/CBC)
Mayor John Tory said in a statement that “everyone is working to restore power as quickly as possible.”
“I know everybody with power out just wants to know when it’s going to come back on,” he said. “Hydro officials want that as well, and I know they will announce a recovery time as soon as they have an accurate estimate.”
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