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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Yellowknifers may continue to experience rotating power outages similar to the one that occurred Monday night after a Canadian Forces Griffon helicopter struck a power line near the airport at around 7:50 p.m.

Since setting off for Yellowknife January 20, Canadian Forces participating in Exercise ARCTIC RAM have experienced 13 incidents of varying seriousness involving military vehicles, according to Maj. Lena Angell, a public affairs officer with the Canadian Forces. - NNSL file photo

Power to the city is currently being supplied by diesel generators from the Jackfish Lake power plant and Bluefish Hydro north of Prosperous Lake but Yellowknife's main source of power – Snare Hydro – is out of commission after the helicopter accident and could remain that way for up to 10 days while the NWT Power Corporation (NTPC) tries to repair the damaged lines.

"Once (power) generation's gone obviously it affects us," said Lori Burrill, customer service supervisor with Northland Utilities, the electricity distributor for Yellowknife.

"With what (NTPC) were able to get back up and running we were able to get I think half the city up within about an hour and then we obviously had some problems getting enough generation to get the rest of the city up. We did start a little bit of rotating outages last night."

As part of an emergency plan, NTPC and Northland Utilities have asked commercial customers to use backup diesel generators during peak periods, from 6 to 8 a.m. and 4 to 8 p.m., until the transmission line is back in service.

"That's actually what did get us through the morning to be honest with you," said Burrill on Tuesday.

"Suppertime will be another concern … We'll do rotating outages if necessary, if we find that our peak is too high for what we have available."

The break in the transmission line occurred about 10 km northwest of the Yellowknife airport. All three phases of the line were left lying on the ground.

Robert Schmidt, director of hydro operations for power corp., said the company had hoped the damage had been to the guard wires atop the towers, which would have allowed for faster repairs. On Tuesday morning, however, NTPC staff discovered the guard wires were still intact and the conductors had been broken.

"All evidence points to contact by an aircraft that cut through the high voltage transmission line serving the city," said Schmidt.

The company requires material and personnel from southern Canada and the Department of Transportation must assess the stability of frozen waterways leading to the site and grant NTPC temporary permission to cross with heavy equipment, said Schmidt.

As for the helicopter, it sustained significant damage after its front struck the wires but landed safely at the airport, said Lt.-Col John Casey, air component commander for Exercise ARCTIC RAM. None of the three personnel on board reported any injuries.

Casey said the helicopter was returning to the Yellowknife airport after conducting a surveillance mission as part of Exercise ARCTIC RAM. A team of five people has since been summoned from Ottawa to investigate the incident and the aircraft and personnel are being quarantined as part of the investigation.

"To the best of my knowledge (the incident) actually caused the power fluctuation in town," said Casey.

Schmidt said above average forecast temperatures for the next two weeks will help keep electricity peaks at a manageable level.

The cost of repairs has yet to be determined.

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