Clean up crews are working around the clock to restore power to hundreds of thousands of customers across the Greater Toronto Area who have been told it could be Christmas before they get electricity at home.

In Toronto, approximately 219,000 customers were without power as of noon. The outage appeared to be concentrated along the Highway 401 corridor from Etobicoke to Scarborough, Toronto Hydro said Sunday night.

Toronto Hydro CEO Anthony Haines called the storm "catastrophic" early Sunday. On Monday morning, Haines continued to stress the severity of the situation.

"We are very much in the midst of the longer-term planning," he said in an early-morning interview with CP24, explaining that branches and trees continue to fall around the city, taking power lines with them.  "Outages continue to happen. Things we fixed are becoming unfixed."

Haines warned people the power might not be back in time for Christmas.

"Christmas is a very aggressive schedule," he said. "People should prepare for the worst."

North of the city, as of noon., about 20,600 customers are still impacted by the storm in Vaughan, Richmond Hill, Thornhill, Markham, Aurora and other parts of York Region according to PowerStream.

In Durham Region, 12,000 customers remained without power as of 10 a.m. Veridian said the outages are concentrated in heavily treed areas such as Pickering, Ajax, Bowmanville, Newcastle and Port Hope.

In Mississauga, roughly 750 customers remained without power overnight, down from 20,000 at the height of the storm, according to the Enersource Twitter feed.

“We are going in the right direction,” the company’s tweet said. “It’s slow going but our crews are committed.”

Hydro One Brampton said as of 9:30 p.m., 9,200 customers were without power.

Hydro One, which covers a swath of Southern Ontario, said approximately 110,000 customers remained without power Sunday night, with some areas not expected to see restoration until as late as Tuesday evening. The worst hit areas are Dundas, Guelph and Bolton.

The power outages also affected shopping malls, forcing them to turn away thousands of shoppers who were in need of last-minute Christmas gifts. Some malls reopened on Monday but many had yet to resume full operations.

A number of school boards throughout the GTA said child care services that normally run out of school facilities would not be running Monday.

York University also announced Sunday night that it is suspending its operations until Jan. 2 because of the ongoing weather situation. The university said exams scheduled for Dec. 23 would be rescheduled on Jan. 11.

Many residential streets throughout the Greater Toronto Area remained littered with downed trees, icy wires, and branches that snapped under the weight of 20 to 30 millimetres of freezing rain that fell during the ice storm.

Haines said Toronto Hydro crews worked in "awful" conditions overnight.

"I'm very concerned about trees falling on our workers," he said.

Reports of any downed wires can be made at 416-542-8000. Emergency officials are warning people not to remove anything themselves because of the potential risk.

City not declaring an emergency yet

While city officials say the situation is bad, they held off declaring a state of emergency Sunday. On Monday, Mayor Rob Ford repeated his assertion that the conditions do not warrant him to make the call.

"We are not in a state of emergency. I'm not going to panic people for no reason," he said early Monday morning during an interview with CP24 Breakfast. "We're getting things done."

Ford said he spoke to Haines personally and was told there was "no need" to declare an emergency. However, he said if Haines wanted him to make the declaration, he would heed his advice.

"It has to be severe, where residents can't even leave their home, for us to declare a state of emergency," Ford said to reporters at a Monday morning news conference.

Haines was asked about the issue at the news conference and he said he couldn’t comment on the city’s decision. However, he explained Toronto Hydro is already operating at an emergency level. He said a declaration by the city would not affect Toronto Hydro’s response.

Toronto’s Emergency Medical Services Chief Paul Raftis also said that paramedic response would not change if the city decided to make the declaration. He said EMS is already an emergency service and operates as such at all times.

The mayor is expected to hold another news conference at 4 p.m. to update the public on the city's efforts to clean up after the storm.

Ontario authorities are expected to hold a news conference Monday afternoon to discuss the province’s response to the storm. CP24 will have LIVE coverage of both press conferences.

Delays on TTC, GO

In the meantime, TTC and GO Transit crews continue to scramble top restore regular service.

Both transit systems have been dogged by power outages and debris at track level, causing significant delays during the morning rush.

Those delays are expected to continue throughout the day.

The TTC confirmed early Monday that the Sheppard subway line and the Scarborough RT won’t be operational for the second day in a row.

There are also delays on the Bloor-Danforth line, with no subway service between Warden and Woodbine Stations, and the Yonge-University-Spadina line where there is no power to North York Centre and Yorkdale stations.

Shuttle buses are running along the affected routes.

TTC officials confirmed late Sunday night that streetcar service had resumed throughout the city.

Andy Byford, the TTC's CEO, told CP24 Monday morning that commuters should still use the TTC today despite the delays.

"It's still the best way to get around town," he said.

GO Transit officials said Monday that crews are still dealing with frozen switches, signal outages, trees on tracks and station power outages.

"Those are the biggest issues," Go Transit Spokesperson Anne Marie Aikins told CP24. "Expect minute-by-minute adjustments."

Aikins said the GO Transit schedule will adjust as the day develops. She said it will continue to run on a "severe storm schedule" and that commuters should expect delays and cancellations. 

"We will be cancelling and adjusting schedules to both trains and buses to do our best to ensure as much service as possible," she said.

GO users are being asked to check the website in advance for the latest schedule info.

Power outage tips

  • Keep your fridge and freezer doors shut as much as possible. Generally, food will keep for 24 to 48 hours, as long you keep the door closed.
  • Unplug or turn off all appliances to avoid possible damage when power resumes.
  • Turn off water to the clothes washer and dishwasher if they are in use when the power goes out.
  • Do not go near electrical equipment around areas of standing water, like a flooded basement.
  • Never use barbecues, propane or kerosene heaters or portable generators indoors.
  • Secure windows and doors as well as outdoor furniture and equipment.
  • Park vehicles in protected areas, if available.
  • Leave a light or radio on so you will know when power is restored.
  • Open the curtains and blinds to help warm your home if it’s sunny
  • Close curtains or blinds to prevent heat from escaping if it’s cloudy
  • When possible, keep your windows and doors closed to prevent heat from escaping
  • When power has been restored, check all fuses to ensure that none have been blown, before calling Toronto Hydro.

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