Power outages continue to dwindle days after Dorian

Nova Scotia Power hopes to see the entire province with restored power by this weekend, as weakened trees continue to knock out power lines across Nova Scotia.

The number of homes and businesses without power has continued to dwindle across the Maritimes, four days after the powerful storm Dorian pummelled the region with torrential rain and gusty winds.

Just under 55,000 Nova Scotia Power customers were still without power by 5:00 p.m. AT Wednesday, down from 400,000 at the height of the storm on Saturday.

About 11,000 homes and businesses were still in the dark on Prince Edward Island, while only 76 were without power in New Brunswick.

Dorian approached the region as a Category 2 hurricane and made landfall near Halifax on Saturday evening as a post-tropical storm with hurricane-strength winds.

The storm uprooted large trees and downed power lines across the Maritime provinces, prompting the Canadian Armed Forces to be brought in to help with the cleanup.

Karen Hutt, Nova Scotia Power's president and CEO, said more crews from outside the province will arrive on Wednesday night and Thursday morning.

She said an additional 25,000 customers lost power again on Tuesday, and another 7,700 on Wednesday, as a result of trees that fell days after the storm. One example was a tree in downtown Halifax that fell on Tuesday, taking five power poles down with it.

Hutt said some pockets along the Annapolis Valley and near the South Shore may take the longest to repair.

"There's no question there's some really complex work that is underway there," she said. "There's a lot of trees down."

Hutt also said some customers who have power now may lose it temporarily in order to restore everyone.

Overages to be waived by some cellphone companies

Nova Scotia was also marred by cellphone coverage problems in the days following the storm, with many people unable to connect to the network or having limited connectivity.

Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said Tuesday in Halifax that people with concerns should alert the CRTC.

Telus, Rogers, Koodo and Fido have agreed to waive cellphone overage fees incurred in Dorian's wake, although what exactly is being waived varies by company.