INUVIK - A power outage in Inuvik last Tuesday left the community in the dark for more than seven hours over a 10-hour period.

Staff at Inuvik Regional Hospital's Aramark cafeteria were kept busy last Tuesday feeding the town while the power was out for most of the day. It was the only eating establishment open, thanks to the hospital being powered by a generator. Front row, from left, Lori Greenland, Irene Firth and Amie Ashton. Back row, Logan Bullock, left, and Daniel Smith. - Andrew Rankin/NNSL photo

The blackout proved to be bad news for most businesses with at least one exception.

Lori Greenland, manager of the Aramark cafeteria at the Inuvik Regional Hospital, estimated sales jumped 400 per cent.

With the hospital hooked up to a back-up generator, hers was the only restaurant open after 9:30 a.m., when the power went out.

A breakdown in the town's back-up power plant resulted in the town-wide outage, which forced government offices, schools and many businesses to close for most of the day.

Engines powering the NWT Power Corp.'s dual diesel generator plant overheated and shut down at about 9:30 a.m. as a result of a major coolant leak, said Mike Ocko, thermal region director for the power corp. He said crews were servicing the natural gas plant at the time, which is the town's primary power source.

Power was eventually restored at about 7:30 p.m.

At the Aramark cafeteria, staff were swamped with hungry customers.

"It was pretty surprising," said Greenland with a laugh. "At lunchtime we figured this would go a lot longer than normal so we started popping stuff into the oven, making more sandwiches and salad, just doing what we could."

The main dishes of meatballs and Italian chicken sold out fast, so they resorted to cabbage rolls for entrees.

Greenland said she was surprised how long the outage lasted but was thankful it didn't happen during the winter cold.

Both Samuel Hearne Secondary School and Sir Alexander Mackenzie School closed right after lunch hour.

With the exception of a few, business and government offices in town shut down soon after the outage began. Bernie MacNeil, owner of Arctic Digital, was one of the business owners who lost revenue due to the power failure.

He figured he was out between $2,000 and $3,000. He spoke to Inuvik Drum on his way home with a take-out dinner from the hospital cafeteria.

Despite the hit to his pocketbook, MacNeil wasn't bitter at the power corp.

"I think they're going to have problems from time to time. That's just the nature of the business," he said.

Kelly Humphries, a Millennium Construction employee, spent the day painting the nurses' residence located beside the hospital on Mackenzie Road. Unfazed by the outage, he said it was business as usual for him.

He said he was just thankful to have place nearby to get a bite to eat.

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