Power fully restored following last Monday’s storm

The lights are finally back on across New Brunswick more than a week after a damaging wind storm tore through the province.

NB Power said the remaining customers affected by last Monday’s storm were reconnected to the grid on Boxing Day.

“We want to express our gratitude for your patience and support as our team has worked to restore power to every New Brunswicker over the past week and a half,” the utility said in a social media post.

“You have shown unimaginable kindness during a difficult time with prolonged outages. We cannot thank you enough.”

More than 130,000 homes and businesses across the province lost power. Charlotte County was one of the hardest-hit areas, along with central and western New Brunswick.

The utility said the restoration effort from last week’s storm, which caused extensive damage in many areas, was one of the largest in its history.

Crews encountered massive, uprooted trees, often several causing one outage impacting an individual customer. Repairs for single outages often included removing trees and vegetation, replacing poles and equipment and restringing wires.

Private contractors and crews from neighbouring utilities were brought in to help with the restoration efforts.

“This was a collective effort, and we sincerely appreciate it,” said NB Power.