Power fully restored to Manitoba First Nation following Sunday outage: Manitoba Hydro

Pimicikamak Cree Nation is entering its fourth night without power, leading to Chief David Monias criticizing the current response.

Power has been fully restored to a Manitoba First Nation that was without electricity since Sunday.

According to Manitoba Hydro, full electrical service to all customers in Pimicikamak Cree Nation was restored at 1:30 p.m. Friday.

“Thank you to our customers in Cross Lake/Pimicikamak for their patience and understanding as we worked to restore service during this prolonged outage,” Manitoba Hydro CEO Hal Turner said in a news release.

“I want to also thank all of the Manitoba Hydro employees and others who took time out of their holiday season to safely complete this difficult repair in such cold temperatures.”

A transmission line that ran between the Nelson River failed Sunday afternoon, causing the outage for the community of approximately 7,000 people.

The repair was complicated as its location required helicopter access and needed to be completed during daylight hours.

Power was gradually restored starting Thursday to avoid overwhelming the system, Hydro said.

Chief David Monias of Pimicikamak Cree Nation said Thursday the community is not out of the woods yet, noting that concerns remain regarding frozen water and sewer pipes.

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With files from CTV’s Harrison Shin and Kimberly Rio Wertman