Strong southwesterly winds with gusts up to 80 km/h are expected to begin early this afternoon and end this evening, according to Environment Canada. Utilities Kingston offers information to help protect your home and safety. Know what to do in case of a power outage, downed power line or traffic signal issues.

Know your electricity provider - and who to contact in an emergency

Please assist us by knowing - and calling - your correct service provider. This will help our staff stay focused on safely and quickly restoring any power outages to our customers. Never use social media to report a suspected utility issue!

Kingston is primarily served by two electricity providers – Utilities Kingston and Hydro One. A small number of homes and business in Kingston East and north of the 401 receive their services from Eastern Ontario Power. If you are an Eastern Ontario Power customer, call 1-844-601-9473 in case of a power outage.

The following PDF map outlines the areas served by these three providers. Please review it and get familiar with who to contact in your area. 

Kingston's electricity providers - service areas

If your power outage is in the following areas, check with Utilities Kingston, via our Outage Map, or by calling our 24-hour line at 613-546-1181: 

Stay updated

We strive to provide reliable and timely information about utility interruptions. Stay up-to-date with our outages map, and by following us on Facebook and Twitter. 

Downed lines and tree branches

• If you see a downed power line or tree branch that has fallen on a power line, always assume it still has electricity flowing through it, even if it isn’t sparking.
• Stay back at least 10 metres or 33 feet (that’s about the length of a school bus) and don’t touch anything metal (such as guard rails) in the area.
• Report it immediately by calling 911 or our emergency line at 613-546-1181. This line is answered 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
• If a power line falls on your car, the car and the ground around it may be electrified and you could be killed if you get out of the vehicle. Stay inside until the utility workers tell you it’s safe to get out. Tell everyone to stay back 10 metres or 33 feet.

Power outage precautions

Review our power outage precautions. For example, you may wish to locate a phone that does not require electricity, as well as a flashlight and batteries. Avoid using a propane barbeque, camp stove or portable standby generator indoors. Plan to turn off all appliances that will turn on automatically when power is restored.

Traffic signals may not be working 

Consider these precautions:

• During wind storms or heavy ice build up, be aware of, and avoid driving or walking under, dangling traffic signal heads. Report traffic signal issues in Kingston to 613-546-1181.
• Power outages and high winds mean that a number of traffic signals may not be working. Travellers are reminded to treat the affected intersections as though they are four-way stops and yield to traffic on the right.
• Did you know? We’ve installed 82 uninterruptible power supplies at critical intersections throughout the city - check out this map of locations. In the event of a power outage, the UPS allow for safe and efficient traffic flow, providing power for three to six hours.

If you have any concerns about utility equipment, contact the Utilities Kingston 24-hour line at 613-546-1181.