Toronto — Some Toronto residents may be without power this week — with brownouts Friday and Saturday — as the city recovers more slowly than first hoped from the massive blackout that hit Ontario Thursday night.
Toronto Hydro-Electric System Ltd. reports that 75 per cent of electricity service has been restored in the city, but did not know when it would have full service.
"We now have enough power on the distribution system to begin to service non-essential customers," Toronto Hydro said in a statement just after 3 p.m. EDT.
"Customers in Toronto could experience power interruptions, up to two hours in length, periodically today through to Monday as the power supply is stabilized."
Meanwhile, the Toronto Transit System is using 100 per cent of its bus fleet but streetcars will return to service only when more power is restored. The subway system, a heavy energy user, will not be in service until TTC officials are confident of a stable power supply, TTC chief safety officer John O'Grady told the press briefing.
That could happen as late as Monday morning, the TTC said in a Friday release.
"We had hopes things would be back to normal 100 per cent this morning," Toronto Deputy Mayor Case Ootes told a 6.30 a.m. press briefing.
While many areas of the city have power restored, Scarborough remains one of the hardest hit.
Toronto Police deputy chief Mike Boyd said there had been 38 major arrests for robberies, lootings and assaults overnight, "slightly above" normal.
Fire Chief Bill Stewart said his department had responded to about 1500 calls overnight, with one two-alarm fire that left a resident with burns. The chief urged residents not to use candles, the cause of the fire.
Acting emergency services chief Bruce Farr said about 400 patients had been taken to hospital by ambulance overnight, a higher rate than normal.
City officials are asking businesses not to open and urging residents to stay home, but not use air conditioners, washers or dryers. Only essential emergency services and health care workers are to report for duty.
All city offices will be closed, as will camps, pools and splash pads. There will be no residential waste pick up but city officials are still deciding what to do about commercial garbage pickup tonight.
Meanwhile, the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce is evacuating its headquarters in Toronto's Commerce Court.
The landlord of the four buildings asked all of the tenants to leave the complex Friday morning because of rolling blackouts that are expected, said CIBC spokesman Robert Waite.
Elevetors in the buildings have been shut down for safety reasons and workers are being advised to go home for the remainder of the day, he added.
Commerce Court is located at the corners of King St. and Bay St., in the heart of Toronto's financial district.
Mr. Waite said CIBC's ATM's and online banking system are working, and it is business as usual for its trading floors in Toronto and New York. Senior CIBC employees in Toronto are working from other locations.
