Hydro One crews have been working around the clock since the ice storm, and most often in challenging conditions, as they try to restore power to thousands of homes and businesses.
Hydro One, in a Facebook post, said "Our hearts are melting" in response to the thank you cards Grade One students of Coldwater showed in appreciation to crews working to get the power back on.
"Their messages remind us why we work so hard to restore power," the post stated. "Big shout out and thank you to the Grade 1s at Coldwater. You have given us a huge boost."
As of late Monday afternoon, about 44,000 Hydro One customers and businesses still had no power, and approximately 20,600 were cottages and trailers.
"High winds and snow are expected this evening in areas affected by the ice storm," Hydro One said on its outage map page. "This may slow restoration and cause new outages as loose trees and limbs may continue to come down. Localized flooding continues to be an issue in some areas. Restoration may be slowed if roads are affected. Severe damage continues to be discovered as new areas are accessed. Crews are rebuilding sections of the local distribution grid in many places."
The utility added that crews have identified more than 2,300 broken poles.
"Restoration in the hardest hit areas will continue into this week. For remote areas, including customers who can only be reached by water, restoration may take longer. This includes many seasonal properties" the utility said.
