Hydro One crews to help restore power in U.S.

Hydro crews from Ontario and Quebec are in the U.S.to help restore power to legions still in the dark after a powerful storm last week.

About 200 Hydro One employees will help local utilities in the Baltimore, Virginia and Washington, D.C.areas.

Bill Smeaton, a Hydro One crew leader, told CBC News that the type of damage that has occurred in theD.C. area is of a scale that is not typically seen in urban areas.

"In the north, we experience this type of damage in our more remote, cottage-type country, but to have this kind of type of damage right in your city centres creates all kinds of obstacles that arent common in the more northern areas," Smeaton said during a telephone interview on Tuesday afternoon.

Smeaton said Hydro One crews are in the midst of their first day assisting in the restoration effort.

Crews from Hydro Quebec left to lend a hand Monday morning. About 70 workers from the utility are in Middle River in Maryland, northeast of Baltimore.

They will stay until restoration is complete or local crews can handle the work on their own.

Friday's storm arrived with little warning, killing 22 people and knocking out power to three million homes and businesses, so utility companies have had to wait days for extra crews.

Nearly 1.8 million people are still without electricity.

Hydro One and Hydro Quebec have agreements with North American utilities to help out during significant power outages.

New Brunswick's utility, N.B. Power, has a similar deal but did not immediately send relief, though it may do so later.

In February 2010, Hydro One assisted utilities in Vermont after a winter storm. In September 2008, its crews travelled to Ohio to help restore power after hurricane Ike caused major outages.

U.S. officials fear the death toll could climb because of the heat and widespread use of generators, which emit fumes that can be dangerous in enclosed spaces.