Council members in the Ontario town of Amherstburg are expressing deep frustration and demanding concrete answers over what they describe as an unacceptable pattern of recurring power outages plaguing the community.
Council Takes Official Action
Earlier this week, town council unanimously backed a motion presented by Deputy Mayor Chris Gibb. The motion formally requests that officials from Hydro One, the province's largest electricity transmission and distribution service provider, appear at a future council meeting. Their mandate will be to address the persistent frequency and underlying causes of the recent power interruptions that have left residents and businesses in the dark.
This has been a long standing issue for the residents of Amherstburg, Gibb stated during Monday's council meeting, highlighting the chronic nature of the problem. He emphasized that it was time for council to reach out officially and demand an explanation for why the power fails even on clear, calm days.
A Mayor's Frustration
Mayor Michael Prue, who also serves as the chair of Essex Powerlines, echoed the deputy mayor's concerns. He revealed that he has personally raised the town's grievances with Hydro One on multiple occasions, yet the situation has seen little improvement.
I'd like to get to the bottom of it, Prue told the council. All of my meetings that I have had as mayor with Hydro One have not resolved anything. He further noted that his recent discussions have intensified, focusing specifically on securing additional hydro resources for the town of Amherstburg.
The electrical supply for Amherstburg is a shared responsibility, provided through both Hydro One and Essex Powerlines. However, a significant portion of the core infrastructure that feeds electricity into the town is maintained by Hydro One.
Real-World Consequences for the Community
The impact of these outages extends far beyond mere inconvenience. Deputy Mayor Gibb pointed to the tangible frustration, economic disruption and concern felt throughout the community. He cited a specific recent incident in the Kingsbridge neighbourhood where the power flickered on and off approximately a dozen times over a span of just three days.
Speaking from his perspective as a local business owner, Gibb outlined the direct financial and productivity costs. I know as a business owner, when the power goes out, it takes 20 minutes to reboot your computer systems and your point-of-sale system, he explained. It's costing us productivity.
The town administration is now tasked with contacting Hydro One to coordinate a date for the requested presentation. Council also intends to ask the utility company to outline any planned maintenance schedules or infrastructure upgrades that might prevent future outages.
