P.E.I. cable leak to be repaired by mid-July

An electrical cable that has been leaking oil in the Northumberland Strait will take another month to fix, according to Maritime Electric.

The leak was discovered in March in one of two transmission cables that run underwater between P.E.I. and New Brunswick.

It took divers two months to pinpoint the source of the leak, which is about the size of a nail.

A portion of the cable will have to be lifted out of the water and repaired at the surface.

John Gaudet, a vice-president with Maritime Electric, said they're currently pricing contractors and hope to make a decision next week.

"Our internal schedule shows us starting the repairs mid- to late-June with ultimately having the cable back in service sometime early to mid-July," he said.

Gaudet said while they have been able to minimize the impact of the leak, they can't stop it until it's fully repaired.

"We are satisfied that we are proceeding with haste and that, you know, we're going to get a quality job. But this is a complex activity and we have to have everything properly organized and in place before we start the repair activity."

Gaudet says no disruption of service is expected during the repairs.

"We're very optimistic that this will be unnoticed by customers."