Surrey outage update
July 4, 2011 - 10:45 p.m.
BC Hydro issued the following update regarding the power outage in the Surrey area this evening:
BC Hydro has been monitoring and working actively to address limited transmission line instability in one area along the Fraser River near the Port Mann Bridge that is due to high water levels. Safety and power reliability are our top priorities and we had stabilized the situation over the weekend.
Today, the situation deteriorated as a result of higher river levels and electricity infrastructure near the Port Mann bridge was affected.
Approximately 25,000 customers were without power this evening after a 230 kv transmission tower fell at about 9 pm that appears to be caused by the increased and unexpected erosion along the Fraser River due to higher than usual flows.
There are no safety issues as a result of the fallen transmission tower as the attached power lines deactivated the moment the tower fell. There were no injuries.
We worked very quickly to respond and BC Hydro crews have restored power to the majority of customers and are continue working hard to restore power to an additional approximately 4,000 customers.
BC Hydro crews will continue to work on the stablizing towers and restoring power to the affected customers. We will issue an update as soon as we have more information and thank our customers for their patience.
Contact:
BC Hydro Media Relations
p. 604.928.6468