A widespread power outage disrupted downtown Toronto on Tuesday afternoon, cutting electricity to homes and businesses and knocking out numerous traffic lights across the city's core.
The electricity disruption primarily affected the area between University Avenue and Yonge Street, stretching south from Dundas Street toward Harbour Street, according to Toronto Hydro's outage map.
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Toronto police confirmed that multiple intersections lost functioning traffic signals due to the incident. Officials warned motorists that these areas must be treated as four-way stops.
The blackouts also impacted local commercial operations. Electronic billboards outside the Eaton Centre went completely blank at around noon on Tuesday.
Emergency Response Underway
While utility officials did not immediately confirm the exact cause of the system failure, Hydro One reported that emergency fire crews were dispatched to the Terauley Transmission Station near Bay and Dundas streets.
The utility provider expressed regret over the sudden infrastructure failure and the subsequent impact on local residents and commercial operations.
"We sincerely apologize for the disruption as we understand how difficult it is to be without power," Toronto Hydro said in a post on social media.
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A representative for the utility distributor further explained to CTV News Toronto that technicians were actively addressing the fluid situation alongside regional transmission partners.
"... we don’t yet have a confirmed estimated time of restoration.
However, we’ve been able to work with Hydro One to restore some customers," the statement read.
Data published on Toronto Hydro's official outage map indicated an estimated restoration time of 6 p. m.
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for the hundreds of customers remaining without electricity in the affected sectors.
