Ice storm: Toronto Hydro CEO promises power within hours to remaining customers

We're standing on the finish line.

Toronto Hydro CEO Anthony Haines says there are less than 6,000 households still without power — down from a peak of more than 300,000 after last week's ice storm — and that number is dropping “minute by minute.”

“There are trucks rolling toward you if you are one of those customers whose power remains out,” he said at City Hall Sunday, during the latest of the daily press briefings, which mayor Rob Ford hopes will soon no longer be necessary.

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As of noon Sunday, the city closed four warming centers located in community centers at Mitchell Field, Lawrence Heights, Malvern and Driftwood Park after only 8 people spent the night in them. One hundred and eight people slept in a warming centre Saturday, down from over 1,000 earlier in the week.

But as long as some people are still without power, Toronto Hydro remains at their highest level of emergency.

“We will continue that posture until each and every customer has had their power restored,” Haines said.

While 40 traffic signals remain out and 41 public housing units are still dark, much of the attention at City Hall is now turning toward the massive cleanup of fallen branches that litter the streets. An estimated 20 per cent of the city's tree canopy came down after the storm.

Ford reported 1,368 streets are currently blocked by debris and downed wires.

While all the arterial streets in the city are clear, a major push is now on to clear the areas around schools so they are safe when students return to class next week, said transportation head Steve Buckley.

With temperatures dropping and snow expected in the coming days, Buckley asked that people take any fallen branches and stack them on the boulevards and lawns so they don't freeze in a spot where they're blocking streets and sidewalks.

He reminded homeowners the city will clear away any dropped branches as long as they're dragged to the curb, but any trees on private property with dangling limbs are the homeowners responsibility. While no permit is required to deal with hanging branches, the city recommends hiring a professional arborist to take care of unsafe trees.

Emergency Medical Services reported a 30-year-old man in The Beaches suffered a serious but non-life threatening injury Saturday when he was cutting up fallen branches with a chainsaw.

“A lot of people out there are using chainsaws,” said Forestry chief Richard Ubbens. “They are very dangerous tools ... That chain can do so much damage so quickly. So please work carefully and if you don't what you're doing with a chainsaw, don't use it.”

Ford estimated the post-storm crisis cost Toronto Hydro between $8 million and $10 million. He didn't know how much the city had spent, but said city council would have to find “efficiencies” to find the funds.

He said a special meeting has been scheduled for Jan. 10 to ask the province for money to compensate Torontonians, though he wouldn't say how much the city would ask for nor what kinds of costs would be eligible for government reimbursement.

Earlier Sunday morning, Premier Kathleen Wynne held a press conference at Toronto Fire Services and EMS headquarters to address the ice storm the past weekend, which caused power outages to 300,000 Toronto homes and businesses at its peak.

Wynne said the province will work with grocers to compensate residents for food lost during the outage. Further details will be available Monday.

Wynne said the Office of the Fire Marshal and Emergency Management is working with partners to distribute grocery store gift cards to those affected.

"Loblaw has been the first to donate — $25,000," she said. "We are looking within government to be able to match that.

"I'd like to challenge other chains to help those who have had hardship over this holiday season."

She added that monetary donations are being accepted at the Daily Food Bank, which the province works closely with due to its distribution mechanism.

Wynne was joined by Toronto Hydro’s Haines and by Hydro One CEO Carmine Marcello and representatives from the provincial and municipal governments.

Hydro One, which covers rural Ontario, had completed much of its own restorations, Marcello said, and has diverted resources to help Toronto.

Of the remaining affected Toronto customers, about 1,500 will require private contractors to sort out storm damage before power can come back online.

A Toronto Hydro spokesperson says its employees have been working around the clock to restore power, focusing primarily on harder hit areas, such as Scarborough, East York, North York and Etobicoke.

As of Saturday night, PowerStream reported that more than 300 of its customers in Richmond Hill, Vaughan and Markham were still without power.

Hydro One, said early Sunday morning 1,300 of its customers are still without electricity, with the majority of outages being in Owen Sound and Bracebridge.

In addition to the power outage, Toronto Police have been warning drivers and pedestrians since Saturday morning to avoid closed downtown streets where ice residue from the storm has been falling as a result of warmer temperatures. A stretch of Yonge St., between College and Gerrard streets, remains closed off, as well as the intersection of Bay and Gerrard Sts.

It remains unknown how long until both intersections are cleared.

With files from Ethan Lou and Jodee Brown.