June 1, 2007
Vancouver — B.C. Hydro plans to spend up to $250-million over the next five years to reduce power outages and improve service and communication during emergency interruptions.
The funds, beginning with $31.7-million this year, will go to projects that include “hardening” outage-prone circuits through measures such as tree-trimming and a fleet of 18 back-up diesel generators. Those steps are among recommendations in B.C. Hydro’s 2006-2007 Winter Storm Report.
Between October of 2006 and January of this year, the report says, B.C. was hit with five major storms that resulted in a string of outages. About 1.6 million residents experienced at least one outage during the period, with the number of customers without power peaking at 240,000 on Dec. 15.
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