Power companies work to reduce outages
Tara Kearsey
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (Nov 29/00) - The supplier and distributor of electricity here in Yellowknife are looking at ways to reduce the number of power outages during the winter months.
Two blackouts recently affected the city over a one-week period -- the first on Nov. 17, caused when a raven flew into a line at the Jackfish Substation, and the second on Nov. 24 when large chunks of ice accumulated on the main transmission line supplying power to the capital city.
Al Mueller, consumer services supervisor for Northland Utilities, said the recent power outages have prompted numerous phone calls from customers asking what can be done to increase power reliability and quality.
"As the winter gets colder people start to worry about lengthy outages and they start to worry about freeze-ups in their properties," he said.
Two outages within one week is very unusual for this time of year, said Mueller.
"Usually in the colder months when there is no lightning, there is less reason to expect a power outage," he said. Dan Roberts, director of central operations for NWT Power Corp. said Yellowknife has been affected by nine power outages so far this year. More than half were weather-related and the others were caused by ill-fated ravens.
NWTPC has installed a raven siren at the Jackfish Power Plant to scare away the birds, but some are still causing problems. As a possible solution, Roberts said company officials are consulting a bird expert to determine if anything else can be done to keep the ravens away.
"There is supposed to be a flashing light that's supposed to scare ravens away ... and if you take it to the ultimate I guess we could put a net over the whole substation," he said.
To solve minor power distribution glitches, Roberts said the company is looking at the use of a large battery bank.
However, he said that is a new technology that could prove quite costly.
"Our concern is that if we want to spend enough money, then to take it to the ultimate, we could run a transmission line through to Alberta and you wouldn't notice any other power outage in Yellowknife.
"Unfortunately, that would double or triple the power rates ... anytime you spend big dollars there is always a rate impact," he said.
Roberts said NWT Power Corp. will consult the ratepayers before taking any action.
