Downtown Toronto Turns to Chaos Amid Power Outage

Toronto’s downtown core suffered a major power outage on Thursday, prompting city officials to shut down streets and businesses.

The City of Toronto is aware of power outages affecting a portion of the downtown core. To protect the health and safety of those attending City buildings where power is not stable, the City has made a decision to close the St. Lawrence Market until stable power can be restored.

— City of Toronto (@cityoftoronto) August 11, 2022

According to news outlet CP24, the sudden power outage has “affected several buildings, including the Eaton Centre and Toronto Police Headquarters as well as several towers in the Financial District. The many large advertising screens at Yonge-Dundas Square have also gone dark,” while internet access has also been disrupted as reported by internet monitor website NetBlocks.

The Toronto fire department has been responding to numerous calls regarding individuals trapped in elevators in downtown buildings, while traffic in the area has turned into chaos after street lights stopped working. Some buildings have reverted to emergency backup generators, but the electricity disruption has yet to pause trading activity at the Toronto Stock Exchange.

MAJOR power cut in downtown #Toronto. Traffic lights out, businesses closed, general chaos… things haven’t been this bad since… Well. Since @Rogers fucked things up a few week ago actually#powercut #lightsout #cryptoweek pic.twitter.com/PDgIRYEwGf

— Adam Benzine (@adambenzine) August 11, 2022

It remains unclear what caused the power outage, but according to videos circulating online, a power crane appears to have clipped a transmission line. The outage is expected to last a number of hours, as both TorontoHydro and HydroOne crews work to restore power.

Information for this briefing was found via CP24 and Twitter. The author has no securities or affiliations related to this organization. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.