A large portion of the city core went dark Monday morning when a BC Hydro line malfunctioned.
The blackout occurred in an area spread roughly between the Nechako River and 15th Avenue (north-south) and between Ospika Boulevard and Carney Street (east-west).
Almost 1,400 customers were without power, and functions such as traffic signals were also disrupted starting at 7:38 a.m.
"It was a broken feeder cable," said BC Hydro spokesman Bob Gammer. "A power line somewhere broke, but not an overhead line, it was underground, so it took longer to locate that trouble spot. There was talk initially out in the public that it was a wire down, but I want to clarify that, it was an underground problem."
It took until about 11:30 a.m. to locate and repair the malfunction.
SMART METERS COULD'VE HELPED
Had BC Hydro already installed smart meters, which are coming soon to all homes and businesses, it might have been figured out much more quickly. Gammer said these meters will start to be installed in July and are scheduled for completion by the end of 2012.
"We will know where the outages are, when they happen, so we can respond more efficiently," he said. "It also has detection abilities if someone tries to tamper with the meter. We think it will really help in deterring the theft of power [usually for marijuana grow-operations], which will really benefit all rate payers. We all end up paying when someone steals power."
The smart meters will be demonstrated on June 25 at BC Hydro's open house from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at its Prince George headquarters (corner of 22nd Avenue and Westwood Drive, across from the College of New Caledonia).
The open house will feature BC Hydro president and CEO Dave Cobb. There will be information booths on major projects for this region like the proposed Site C Dam and the Northwest Transmission Line.
The Power Pioneers (BC Hydro retirees) will unveil their new book Voices From Two Rivers about the regional history of electricity. Families can enjoy rides in the bucket trucks, a bounce in an inflatable castle, concession goodies, and more.
