Power was restored to downtown Toronto following a blackout that prompted the evacuation of one of the city’s largest shopping malls, left people stuck in elevators, and put the offices of Canada’s major corporations in the dark.
The largest energy distribution provider in Ontario, Hydro One (H.TO), reported that a barge hauling a crane struck three high-voltage transmission wires, damaging equipment at a power plant.
The organization that distributes energy in downtown Toronto stated in a statement that “earlier this evening, Toronto Fire removed the station allowing our crews to safely reroute and restore power to Toronto Hydro.”
The largest banks, insurers, and stock exchange operator in Canada are located in Toronto’s central business area, which is also the country’s financial hub.
Due to the power outage, several cafes and restaurants were closed during the busiest times of the day as workers from downtown skyscrapers spilled out onto the sidewalks and parks.
Toronto Fire Services reported that it had responded to “a large number of reports” regarding elevator entrapments.
“Visiting the city for the day, I entered an elevator just as the electricity went off. I’m still here. awful timing, “Sean Fraser, Canada’s minister of immigration, stated in a tweet at 1:10 PM. Since then, he had departed the elevator.
A witness reported seeing staff members sitting in the dark in some branches of the largest banks, including Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO), Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO), and Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO), in the impacted area.
Santiago Orazco, a worker at Scotia Plaza in downtown Toronto, claimed, “We were working in the office at 12:39 when all of a sudden it went dark. Along with us, several others have left by the emergency door.
TTC, the operator of the underground subway system, reported that despite the air conditioning being tripped, services were normal. Customers using streetcars may see significant delays, the TTC said.
The Toronto Stock Exchange reported that while its systems remained powered, its offices did not. Some buildings, according to the University of Toronto, were harmed.
According to a witness, the interruption led to traffic lights in one location ceasing to function.
The problem began at 12:00 EDT (1600 GMT). On Twitter, some Hydro One customers voiced their complaints.
The power outage occurs little over a month after a Rogers Communications Inc. (RCIb.TO) system error rendered telecom services unusable for a significant portion of users and services across Canada for about 19 hours.
