Winnipeg business closure scare leads Hydro to reschedule planned outage

Manitoba Hydro has cancelled a planned River Heights neighbourhood outage after a miscommunication led to area businesses fearing unexpected closure.

Hydro had planned to shut down power along Lanark and Renfrew streets between Corydon Avenue and John Brebeuf Place on Friday.

Overhead electrical maintenance work can only be done with the power off, during the day, for safety reasons, Hydro spokesman Peter Chura said. It chose Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. because St. John Brebeuf School had an in-service day.

However, the affected area houses a strip of businesses including a Royal Bank of Canada, eateries, shops, services such as physiotherapy and a medical centre.

Those entities didn’t get notified about the outage until Wednesday morning. Many entrepreneurs received an email from their landlord, Private Pension Partners.

“We realized this week that some of the customers … their contact information was not updated in our system,” Chura said. “That happens sometimes if there’s a new property owner, a new property manager.”

Although initial notices about the outage were sent Oct. 13, new ones needed to be sent recently, Chura said, adding it’s short notice for commercial businesses.

Hydro has decided to cancel the outage and reschedule, likely for some time in November.

— Free Press staff