SUDBURY -- A Hydro One power outage in Greater Sudbury begins tonight, June 16, from 7 p.m. until 1 a.m. Residents affected include those in Garson, Skead and Wahnapitae, as well as some people in Dryden, Neelon, Hanmer, Scadding, Rathbun, Kelly and Davis.

A toal of 4,162 customers will be affected.

"Hydro One crews will be completing equipment upgrades and required maintenance to ensure a safe and reliable supply of electricity in the area," the utility said in a news release.

"This includes installing and replacing smart-switches, which is equipment that helps to reduce the frequency and duration of power outages, while limiting the amount of customers affected."

Hydro One coordinated the work with essential services in the area and has worked to reduce the duration of the outage by bringing in additional crews along with rerouting power to limit the amount of customers affected, the release said.

Some tips to help you and your family during an outage:

- Make sure your appliances are in the off position, such as the stove.

- Make sure your devices, such as a smart phone, and extended battery packs are fully charged.

- Keep your refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible. Use a cooler with ice for items you’ll need during the planned outage.

- If available, place ice bags or ice packs around items in your refrigerator to help keep them cold or consider placing them in the freezer. A full freezer will generally keep food frozen for about 48 hours while a half full freezer will keep food frozen for about 24 hours.

- Consider filling jugs of water to use for drinking and cooking if you have a generator.

- If you plan to use a generator, remember to use it in a dry area outdoors away from any open windows, doors and vents. Visit the Electrical Safety Authority at esasafe.com for more tips.

- If you have a bathtub, consider filling it with water before the planned outage begins. You can use the water and a bucket to fill your toilet tank to be able to flush. 

"In order to ensure our crews can continue working for all Ontarians, we ask that customers respect physical distancing," the release said. "Customers requiring additional information can visit Hydro One’s outage map or call 1-888-664-9376."

 Original story:

Greater Sudbury Hydro says a planned power outage is scheduled for Falconbridge on June 10, from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m.

The outage is a result of work Hydro One is doing in the area. In order to work safely, power will have to be cut to a transmission feeder.

"Please ensure any computerized equipment is turned off prior to this interruption," GSH said in a news release. "Also, note that most cordless phones and garage doors will not operate during a power interruption."

A much smaller power outage is also scheduled next week. About 247 customers on Kathleen Street (Montague Avenue to Eva Avenue), Bessie Avenue, Burton Avenue, Antwerp Street (between Kathleen and Jean Street) and Eva Street will be without power June 7 from 7-10:30 a.m.

Greater Sudbury Hydro’s electricity distribution system contains about 12,000 poles, 999 kilometres of overhead and underground lines, and serves more than 47,000 customers within Greater Sudbury and West Nipissing.

More information on what to do during an outage can be found here.