More than 290,000 customers impacted by Southern B.C.’s mass power outages after storm: BC Hydro
Posted November 4, 2024 12:55 pm.
Last Updated November 5, 2024 3:02 pm.
More than 290,000 BC Hydro customers were impacted by power outages across British Columbia after a storm Monday.
BC Hydro says the hardest hit areas are Victoria, North Vancouver, and Sechelt.
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO 1130 NEWSRADIO VANCOUVER LIVE!A special weather statement was in effect for much of Southern B.C., including much of Metro Vancouver and the Lower Mainland.
Multiple traffic incidents and power outages began causing chaos across the Lower Mainland as a “potent” storm that Environment and Climate Change Canada warned of rolled through the region.
BC Hydro says all available crews and contractor crews are responding to the widespread outages.
Kyle Donaldson with BC Hydro tells 1130 NewsRadio that the impacts of the storm began around 6 a.m. Monday.
“That wind has been relentless, and it’s been affecting customers right across the region for most of the day so far,” said Donaldson.
“At the moment, we have more than 100,000 customers in the Lower Mainland without electricity service. And on Vancouver Island: about 30,000 customers. So it’s at about 130,000 people right now, as of 1 p.m.”
Donaldson says it’s still too early to know how long the outages will continue Monday.
“We were prepared for it, and crews were working as soon as the first outage happened in the very, very early morning hours today. And they’ll continue to work until the last customer is brought online,” he said.
In an update around 4:45 p.m. BC Hydro says crews continue to “make good progress” in restoring power to customers.
“More than 133,000 customers have been restored – or about 56 per cent of the more than 237,000 impacted,” it said.
That is about 104,000 customers without power – 79,000 in the Lower Mainland and on the Sunshine Coast, 25,000 on Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands, according to BC Hydro.
“Drought-damaged trees and branches came down on electrical equipment during the windstorm causing significant damage. BC Hydro has all hands on deck responding to the storm – all available BC Hydro crews and contractor crews will work into the night and overnight hours to restore power as quickly and safely as possible,” the utility company said in its update.
BC Hydro says crews are busy replacing power lines, poles and other equipment to get the lights back on.
In a further update, BC Hydro says as of 10 p.m. nearly 39,000 customers are without power. Around 80 per cent of them are in the Lower Mainland and on the Sunshine Coast, and 20 per cent on Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands.
“About 253,000 customers have been restored – or about 87 per cent of the more than 290,000 customers impacted,” it said.
The energy provider says more than 250 BC Hydro and contractor crew members have been working since Monday morning to replace power lines.
“While progress has been steady, they have encountered challenges, such as roads blocked with vegetation and poor weather conditions that prevented helicopter patrol in some areas,” a statement said.
BC Hydro also says because of the extensive damage, some customers will be without power overnight.
Donaldson says many of the outages might have been caused, indirectly, by climate conditions throughout the year.
“We’re in the middle of a multi-year drought here in British Columbia, and the vegetation is extremely dry right now. This is still very early on in storm season, and many of the trees, they still have leaves on them. In some cases, all it takes is just a little bit of wind to blow a tree over and make contact with a power line, and that results in a power outage for customers,” said Donaldson.
He says another outage in White Rock was caused by patio furniture blowing off a balcony and making contact with electrical infrastructure Monday morning. As a result, Donaldson says, around 14,000 customers in the White Rock area (are) without service.
The winds are also affecting Hullo ferry service, with all sailings cancelled until 4:30 p.m. The company says customers will receive updates via email.
BC Ferries says some sailings are delayed due to adverse weather conditions. All service notices can be found on BC Ferries’ website.
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