Saturday August 21, 2021 | VANCOUVER ISLAND, BC
by Mary P Brooke, Editor | Island Social Trends
It was short and unexpected, but the power outage this morning August 20 impacted over 120,000 BC Hydro customer addresses (at about 2.5 persons per address, that’s about 300,000 people).
Through many areas of Greater Victoria, the Cowichan Valley and up to Port Alberni lost power, due to some work on completing a transmission cable serving the Island. It caused the overload protection equipment to initiate, said BC Hydro. That resulted in a widespread area of outage impact.
According to a review of the active BC Hydro outage list this morning, most of the impacted customers lost power just before 10 am and most were restored by 11 am (most restorations within 30 minutes, according to BC Hydro).
Weather was not an issue. Skies were a bit overcast from the possibility of rain in some areas, or otherwise bright and sunny.
As there was no damage to the system, power could be restored quickly.
Being a Saturday morning in summer, it’s possible not too many urgent plans were interrupted for most individuals and families.
Emergency preparedness professionals remind islanders year-round to be prepared for power outages at any time. That includes having flashlights, batteries, water and food for all members of the household (including pets), medications that you rely upon, and protection for colder weather (e.g. blankets, heater).
