High winds in the region caused the lines to "gallop" as seen in this video from Hydro One
A relentless onslaught of high winds swept through western Ontario, from Grand Bend to St. Mary’s, causing significant disruptions in power supply yesterday.
Customers throughout the region experienced outages and flickering lights persistently throughout the day, as transmission lines battled against the force of the gusty winds.
Hydro One, the key utility provider in the area, reported that the high winds led to an unusual phenomenon known as “galloping” among transmission lines.
While power lines are engineered to withstand such movements, the intensity of the winds brought them dangerously close to towers or other lines, resulting in flickering lights and, in some cases, complete outages.
The impact was felt across various communities – at its peak, approximately 15,000 local customers found themselves without power.
“We understand how challenging this was for our customers and appreciated their patience,” stated Hydro One in acknowledgment of the inconvenience caused by the outages.
Power was gradually restored to the affected areas as late as 5pm.
Written by: B. Shakyaver
