Yellowknife (Aug 18/03) - Even the Northwest Territories felt the effects of the massive power blackout in Ontario and the eastern United States.

When the power shut off Aug. 14 so did the computer system at First Air's cargo office in Yellowknife. The company's main server is located in Ottawa, which was particularly hard-hit by the power outage.

Friday morning the office's computers were working again -- for a while. Cargo agent Jason Cooper said the system seemed to be working for three hours intervals.

The system is used to track packages and ensure planes are weight-balanced.

Employees held down the fort admirably, doing their work manually.

"We're doing our best," said Cooper. "Most people are pretty patient and understand the situation."

SSI Micro customers in about 20 remote communities across the NWT and Nunavut lost their internet connections for approximately 90 minutes. Customers in Yellowknife were not affected. The company quickly re-routed its networks and delivered Internet service out of Yellowknife.

"We were able to work around it," said Ryan Walker, manager of the solutions group at SSI Micro.

Anne Kennedy, a spokesperson for NorthwesTel, said the blackout didn't impact the phone company, although some Sympatico customers may have experienced problems with e-mail.