Hydro One Outage Hits 25,000 in Kingston After Animal Contact

A hydro one outage in Kingston affected about 25,000 customers early Saturday after animal contact with equipment at a Hydro One transmission station. Hydro One said crews were sent out right away and began restoring service by rerouting power.

Kingston outage at 2:30 a.m.

Bianca Pizzo, a Hydro One spokesperson, said the incident happened at about 2:30 a.m. and cut electricity to Hydro One customers and customers served by local distribution companies. She said, "An incident of animal contact at our transmission station in Kingston resulted in an outage affecting close to 25,000 Hydro One customers as well as customers of local electricity providers".

Pizzo said, "Our crews were immediately dispatched and worked to restore customers in stages by rerouting power." By 8 a.m., service had been rerouted and restored to Hydro One customers. The utility said interruptions could continue while crews returned the grid to its normal configuration.

Hydro One crews and traffic lights

Hydro One said smaller pockets across Kingston would be affected on and off throughout the day and should be fully resolved by mid-afternoon, according to Pizzo. Kingston Police told residents not to call 911 for updates or information about the power outage, and drivers were reminded that intersections with non-functioning traffic signals must be treated as four-way stops under Ontario traffic laws.

Animal contacts are described by Hydro One authorities as a common cause of power outages in Ontario, and this outage also disrupted traffic lights throughout the city. For people in Kingston, the immediate change was staged restoration rather than a single citywide return to service, with some areas still waiting as crews worked through the grid.