The frost which has developed on trees, homes, power lines and other surfaces across southeast Saskatchewan is causing a lot of havoc for SaskPower.

Power outages are being reported across the province, including here in southeast Saskatchewan. Jordan Jackle with SaskPower said the outages are directly related to the weather.

“That frost out there, although very pretty, you know, it makes for great pictures, it causes significant issues for our power infrastructure, and we’ve been seeing issues right across south and central Saskatchewan since Friday,” Jackle explained.

The frost has been weighing down on the power lines, causing them to sag, and in some cases, bringing the lines down, or damaging the equipment attached to the poles.

The downed lines have been the cause of power outages here in the southeast. Monday morning the communities of Griffin, Talmage, Benson, Yellow Grass, McTaggart, Lang, Milestone and others were without power for an extended period due to the damaged lines.

With the possibility of downed power lines, SaskPower is reiterating for people to be cautious around the lines if they are down.

“If they do come across a line that’s down, first obviously, stay away from any downed power lines you see out there,” reminded Jackle. “They might appear as though they are not conducting electricity, but they may still very much be live sometimes if they don’t automatically trip.”

He recommended calling SaskPower’s outage line at 310-2220 if you come across a downed power line, and stay at least 10 metres away from the line.

As for how long the weather will linger around which is causing the build-up of the frost, sunshine is expected to come to the southeast later this week, which is anticipated to help get rid of the frost which is coating the region.