UPDATED Why now? This is the question on the minds of many Powell River residents who will be affected by the upcoming planned BC Hydro outage over most of upper Westview on Thursday, December 12.
With the recent cold snap in full swing, residents are concerned about the timing of the work—in the middle of winter when temperatures and extreme weather are potential issues.
Phase one of the planned interruption is a two-hour outage, from 6 to 8 am, that will affect an area of Westview from Kemano Street south to Georgia Crescent, Duncan Street from Fernwood Avenue north, Cook Avenue, Alberni Street from Redonda Avenue north, Tanner Avenue, part of Balfour Street, Claridge Road, Myrtle Avenue and a section of Padgett Road. Phase two of the outage will affect Bowness Avenue, Collingwood Avenue, Esquimalt Court, Fernwood, Field Street, Georgia, Glacier Street, Hazelton Street, Huntingdon Street, Jordan Street, Kemano, Lasqueti Way, Manson Avenue and Westview Avenue and will see power interrupted from 6 am to 2 pm on the same day.
When asked why the upgrades are taking place now, BC Hydro spokesperson Karla Louwers advised that it is simply a matter of meeting Transport Canada requirements.
Locally, neither emergency nor City of Powell River officials appear to have been advised in advance of the mail-out notice going to residents living in affected areas.
The upgrades involve shortening telephone poles around the airport to meet transportation guidelines. “The present height of the poles extends into the aerodrome,” Louwers said. “We need to shorten them to ensure we are in keeping with present Transport Canada restrictions.”
She explained the day’s plan. “At 8 am we’ll bring about 700 of the initial 900 affected customers back on board after the first two-hour phase. The remaining 230 connections will be out until 2 pm that same day,” she said. “The advance notice being issued to affected customers will allow them to make plans in advance of the outage to alleviate any inconvenience, or possible safety issues.”
Ryan Thoms, manager of emergency services for the Powell River Regional Emergency Program, is also questioning the timing. “It’s an interesting question,” he said. “I don’t really know why it seemed like a good idea in the middle of winter. On the flip side, we do spend a lot of time on our soap box reminding people that we need to be prepared for unplanned events like heavy wind storms and extreme cold. At least with a planned event like this we have the advantage of a little advance notice to prepare.”
In the case of elderly people and for people who aren’t well, extra planning may need to go into making sure there are no problems. “Often, people do need help and we need to be in a position to offer that assistance,” Thoms added. “More notice would have been ideal. As it is, I hope there’s time for people to make a plan.”
The manager of Olive Devaud Residence on Kemano, Leonard Wegner, said they received no last-minute notice at all from BC Hydro. “The first we heard about the outage was from the Peak story online and now from what we are hearing on the radio,” he said. “We still haven’t received any notice from Hydro, but we are now planning for it.”
Wegner pointed out that the Olive Devaud facility is relatively old, so there are contingencies that will need to be put into place. “Our oxygen concentrators, air mattresses and nebulizers will all need to be on alternate supply. We are trying to find alternate power for that. We will probably end up having to bring in another generator for equipment and UPS [uninterruptible power supply] for computers.”
Wegner said staff are rushing to do some preliminary testing with the alternate power systems before Thursday arrives.
“It was definitely a surprise, but we’re working on it,” he said.
Cold weather proves cause for concern
System improvement required for air traffic safety
Why now? This is the question on the minds of many Powell River residents who will be affected by the upcoming planned BC Hydro outage.
With the recent cold snap in full swing, residents who will be affected by the outages are concerned about BC Hydro’s timing—in the middle of winter when temperature and extreme weather are potential issues.
When asked why the upgrades were taking place now, BC Hydro spokesperson Karla Louwers advised that it is simply a matter of meeting Transport Canada requirements.
Such requirements relate to lowering the height of hydro poles extending into the aerodrome. Power will be shut off to ensure the safety of BC Hydro crews while working on the project.
Locally, neither emergency nor city services appear to have been advised in advance of the mailout notice going to residents.
“It’s an interesting question,” said regional manager of emergency services Ryan Thoms. “I don’t really know why it seemed like a good idea in the middle of winter. On the flip side, we do spend a lot of time on our soap box reminding people that we need to be prepared for unplanned events like heavy wind storms and extreme cold. At least with a planned event like this we have the advantage of a little advance notice to prepare.”
In the case of elderly people and for people who aren’t well, extra planning may need to go into making sure there are no problems. “Often people do need help and we need to be in a position to offer that assistance. More notice would have been ideal,” said Thoms. “As it is, I hope there’s time for people to make a plan.”
BC Hydro announces power disruption
Outage comes in the midst of cold snap
BC Hydro has issued a notice of a two-phase power interruption affecting a large area of Westview. Phase one of the planned interruption is a two-hour outage from 6 to 8 am on Thursday, December 12 that will affect Kemano Street south to Georgia Crescent, Duncan Street from Fernwood Avenue north, Cook Avenue, Alberni Street from Redonda Avenue northward, Tanner Avenue, part of Balfour Street, Claridge Road, Myrtle Avenue and a section of Padgett Road.
Click to view map of PHASE ONE
Phase two of the outage is scheduled for eight hours, from 6 am to 2 pm on Thursday, December 12, affecting Bowness Avenue, Collingwood Avenue, Esquimalt Court, Fernwood, Field Street, Georgia Crescent, Glacier Street, Hazelton Street, Huntingdon Street, Jordan Street, Kemano, Lasqueti Way, Manson Avenue and Westview Avenue. “At 8 am we’ll bring about 700 of the initial 900 affected customers back on-board after the first two-hour phase,” said BC Hydro spokesperson Karla Louwers. “The remaining 230 connections will be out until 2 pm that same day.”
Click to view map of PHASE TWO
The notice being issued to affected customers will allow them to make plans in advance of the outage to alleviate any inconvenience or possible safety issues, Louwers added.
The upgrades involve shortening telephone poles around the Powell River airport to meet transportation guidelines. “The present height of the poles extends into the aerodrome, the area needed for planes to land and take-off,” Louwers said. “We need to shorten them to ensure we are in keeping with present Transport Canada restrictions.”
The power will be shut off to ensure the safety of BC Hydro crews while they are working on the project. “By starting the outages in the early morning, we are trying to mitigate the inconvenience to our customers,” said Louwers. “In drafting a plan like this we need to take into consideration safety and cost issues and try to minimize any problems that might be experienced by customers.”
More to come. . .
