Power restoration continues following Thursday storms: Enwin

Lightning over the Renaissance Center in Detroit, MI on Aug. 24, 2023. (Source: Steve Biro)

Power restoration continues Saturday afternoon, two days after powerful thunderstorms tore through the Windsor-Essex region.

According to Enwin Utilities, as of Saturday work continued to restore power to customers following damaging thunderstorms that tore through the region on the night of Aug. 24.

At the peak of the outage, approximately 20,000 customers were without power. At the time of publication, approximately 174 customers remain affected by five major incidents, which crews are trying to resolve.

Edwin added that single service outages are being resolved “with estimations that the majority will be restored today.”

The utility company advises residents that individual home outages will not appear on the Enwin outage map, and if the outage is the result of a damaged connection to the home, residents are responsible for getting it repaired by a certified electrician.

‘Even if a home has power but the point of connection has been damaged, the homeowner is still responsible to have the point of connection repaired. Enwin requires authorization from the ESA [Electrical Safety Authority] to reconnect power to the home after a repair has been made,” the release reads.

The utility company reminds residents to stay at least 10 metres away from downed power lines, which is the equivalent of the length of a school bus. Downed power lines can be reported to Enwin by calling 519-255-2727.

In addition, the company is aware of all remaining neighbourhood power outages, and therefore customers are asked to keep phone lines open so emergency calls are able to come through.

“Enwin has all available team members in the field and will continue to do so until all outages are resolved,” the release reads. “We thank our customers for their patience and support during this difficult time.”

According to Western University’s Northern Tornadoes Project, researchers confirmed an EF0 downburst in Chatham on Aug. 24.