BC Hydro to provide power in rotations to Westside residents
300 residents at a time to get power for six-hour intervals
BC Hydro crews are on standby, ready to begin the power restoration process for 1,100 customers who are without power in the Okanagan due to the Westside Road wildfire. Crews have not had access to the area impacted by the fire and are waiting for safety clearance from authorities.
BC Hydro has no indication at this time of when crews will be able to access the area to begin assessing damage to power infrastructure to begin power restoration.
In the short-term, BC Hydro will provide power from a different circuit, with limited capacity, on a rotating basis beginning at 4 p.m. today. There will be three rotations, each six hours long and providing power to 300 customers at a time. Customers can expect to receive six hours of power during an 18-hour cycle.
Of the 1,100 customers without power, this solution will provide power to 900 customers on a rotating basis. This rotation will continue until BC Hydro can make repairs to the system or can install a temporary solution like a diesel generating unit. Two hundred customers directly in the fire zone and in the La Casa subdivision will not be able to receive this rotational power.
More than 1,400 customers lost power on Monday after emergency officials asked BC Hydro to de-energize a power line after the Westside Road wildfire burnt through it. On Tuesday evening, crews were able to switch some customers to another circuit, restoring power to 300 customers.
BC Hydro crews are ready to respond as soon as access is provided. This includes the assembly of the appropriate materials, crews, designers and other experts that may be required.
To ensure that the system does not get overloaded, BC Hydro is asking customers to minimize their power usage until the wildfire has been contained and we are able to fully repair our system. Please plug in and turn on only what is necessary.