Manitoba Hydro is reporting a power outage just west of Southport on Highway 240. Public Affairs officer Bruce Owen explains what's happening.

"One of the problems we're seeing today with the arrival of winter is a tree branch on a line. That weight of the ice on the tree and the wind brings down the branch on the line. This makes the lines arch, and there's power out. We've got crews assigned. It looks like approximately 16 customers who are without service because of this one branch. We've got cleaning operations in Westman and Parkland. Particularly right now it's ongoing in the Killarney area. You have ice buildup not only on tree branches, but it also builds up on the power lines. That weight on the power lines, again causes the wind to come along it snaps them, and they come down. And you've got the power out."

Owen says the best and easiest ways to find out why a power outage is taking place is to go to their website and click on "Outages". Under that link planned outages will be listed as well as the reasons for them. There's also a number to call in case of an emergency.

You can also report an outage on that website.

Website: www.hydro.mb.ca