Charlottetown –
Prince Edward Island’s power company said it will spend about $35 million to repair damage to the company’s distribution system caused by Tropical Storm Fiona.
A spokesman for Maritime Electric said the estimate was based on invoices received so far, adding that the final total should be announced next month.
A major cost to utilities from the storm involves labor, utility spokesman Kim Griffin said.
Trees blown down by the storm in late September caused widespread power outages across the province, and it took 19 days to fully restore power to the island.
Publicly released figures show that after Fiona, 35,000 trees were felled and maintenance crews had to fix 1,133 broken utility poles, 445 damaged transformers and 140 kilometers of disconnected lines.
Fortis Inc. subsidiary Maritime Electric is applying to the province’s energy regulator to raise rates, but it’s unclear how much of the Fiona-related costs will be passed on to taxpayers.
The Canadian Press report was first published on December 13, 2022.