Northern First Nation could have power restored by New Year’s Day

A power outage since Sunday has prompted a state of emergency in a northern Manitoba community.

Manitoba Hydro says it is hoping to get power restored to a northern Manitoba First Nation by late New Year’s Day.

Pimicikamak Cree Nation is currently under a state of emergency due to a power outage affecting around 1,300 customers.

The incident occurred Sunday night when a 1,000-foot stretch of power line crossing the Nelson River failed.

In a statement released Tuesday, the Crown corporation said it’s continuing to work on repairing the power line.

Manitoba Hydro said it expects power will be restored by 6:00 p.m. Thursday, due to a difficult location and terrain.

“The repair work requires daylight, and weather suitable for helicopter operations, in order to be completed safely,” Hydro said.

Hydro also noted heavy equipment from Cross Lake was used to complete a road clearing Tuesday, and crews are working on stabilizing poles and completing other tasks.

Peter Chura, media relations officer with Manitoba Hydro, told CTV News a mechanical failure of the line caused the outage.

“Until our crews retrieve it, we won’t know exactly what caused the break. But for now, the focus is on restoring the power, repairing the damage, and getting the power back on in that community,” he said.

The extent of the damage was discovered on Monday following an aerial survey.