P.E.I. utility Maritime Electric estimates cost of hurricane Fiona at $35 million

Prince Edward Island’s electric utility says it will cost about $35 million to repair damage to the company’s distribution system caused by post-tropical storm Fiona.

A spokesperson for Maritime Electric said that estimate is based on invoices received to date, adding that a final total should be available next month.

Utility spokesperson Kim Griffin says the major costs to the electricity company from the storm involved labour.

Trees downed by the late-September storm caused widespread electrical outages in the province, and it took 19 days to fully restore power on the Island.

Publicly released figures show that 35,000 trees had to be removed after Fiona and that repair crews had to fix 1,133 broken poles, 445 damaged transformers and 140 kilometres of downed wires.

Maritime Electric, a subsidiary of Fortis Inc., is applying to the province’s energy regulator for a rate increase, but it’s still unclear how much of the costs related to Fiona will be passed on to ratepayers.