People who live on Lameque and Miscou islands will lose their power on Sunday afternoon, but not as the result of a severe thunder or ice storm.
NB Power said the planned outage, that will begin at 1 p.m. and could last six hours, is necessary as crews complete the replacement of 17 wooden hydro poles with steel poles.
Spokesperson Marc Belliveau said the reason the poles are being replaced is not related to the ice storm of January 2017.
"It is actually because a thunder and lightning storm that brought with it winds estimated at 190 km/h broke every wooden pole on the causeway last May," he said. "They were replaced by temporary wooden poles until we could install the steel ones."
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The $650,000 project, which also includes a new transmission line on the Lameque causeway, has reduced traffic to one lane for the past week.
Belliveau said the work will help to strengthen the transmission system to and from Miscou Island for years to come.
Turn off electric appliances, heat
The final step of the project is to "energize" the new transmission line.
The planned power outage is part of that process and Belliveau said it could last for as long as six hours.
The Lameque causeway has been down to one lane as NB Power installed the steel poles after a severe thunderstorm in May broke 30 poles on the Acadian Peninsula. (Submitted by N.B. Power)
"We want to advise the public that traffic on the causeway during this time will continue to be reduced to one lane during the work."
Residents are asked to turn off any appliances and electric devices, including electric heat in non-critical areas, once the outage begins.
When power is restored, NB Power is asking residents to slowly turn everything back on over a two-hour period or as required.
