Author of the article: Yutaro Sasaki • Local Journalism InitiativePublished Apr 21, 2025 • 2 minute readA Maritime Electric worker makes repairs in this Guardian file photo. Photo by Alison Jenkins /The GuardianApproximately 4,500 Maritime Electric customers in Prince Edward Island were without power as high winds reached their peak on Easter Sunday.In a phone interview with The Guardian on April 21, Maritime Electric spokesperson Kim Griffin said intense high winds on April 20 required extra staffing.“We started to get calls from customers on Sunday afternoon, and we opened our contact centre and had our customer service reps come in,” she said.THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY.Subscribe now to access this story and more:Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsSUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES.Subscribe or sign in to your account to continue your reading experience.Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsRegister to unlock more articles.Create an account or sign in to continue your reading experience.Access additional stories every monthShare your thoughts and join the conversation in our commenting communityGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorArticle contentWith operators and crew members working into the early morning of April 21, Griffin said it was a busy couple of days with the scattered outages.“(For example) we expected some people were travelling and came home and hadn’t reported their outage – so we wanted to make sure that they had someone to speak with if that was the case,” she said.Environment Canada reported wind gusts exceeding 85 kilometres an hour for parts of the Island over the course of the wind event.SCATTERED OUTAGESMost of Maritime Electric’s affected customers were from Charlottetown and surrounding area, Griffin said.Approximately 2,100 customers in the capital area were affected during the wind’s peak, she added.“But throughout the windstorm, we certainly had scattered outages of hundreds of customers at a time,” Griffin said.All three counties were affected by the winds.“We had them in western P.E.I. We also had them in Charlottetown. We had some outages in Souris, Fortune Bridge and some in Pleasant Grove,” she said.Article contentThroughout the April 20 afternoon and evening, many trees had fallen on power lines, causing the outages, Griffin said.“The causes that were reported from our crews were trees that they had to take off of power lines,” she said.“If anyone has any questions about their account, they can call 1-800-6710-1012 and a customer representative or an agent will speak with them,” Griffin added.CONFEDERATION BRIDGEMeanwhile, traffic at the Confederation Bridge resumed on Monday after disruptions caused by the winds.At approximately 6 p.m. on April 20, a bridge traffic restriction was set in place for certain classes of vehicles due to high winds and gusts that could pose damages or injuries.Restricted classes included automobiles, towing trailers, motorcycles and high-sided vehicles, including trucks, tractor-trailers, recreational vehicles and buses.Yutaro Sasaki is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter, a position funded by the federal government. He can be reached by email at ysasaki@postmedia.com and followed on Twitter @PEyutarosasaki.Article content
Thousands of P.E.I. residents lose power amid high winds on April 20
