FortisBC crews will be upgrading transmission structure insulation on the transmission line that provides power to Summerland.
The work will be done Friday, Sept. 18 from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m. The work has been scheduled to minimize any impact on residents and businesses in Summerland.
“As the only electrical feed to our community, maintenance of this transmission line is very important,” said Jeremy Strovold, general manager of Summerland’s electric utility.
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“The outage will be community wide and FortisBC has committed to us that it will last a maximum of three hours. Our Summerland Electrical crew will be participating in the coordinated efforts to successfully complete this work”.
The municipality’s critical water and wastewater facilities will be running backup generation, so no interruptions of those services are expected.
Strovold said planned outages like this are a good reminder for Summerland residents to increase their preparedness for extended outages.
Unplanned power outages are often caused by freezing rain, sleet storms or high winds which damage power lines and equipment. During a power outage, people may be left without heating or air conditioning, lighting, hot water, or even running water. They may also be left without phone or internet service.
Those who do not have a battery-powered or crank radio may have no way of monitoring news broadcasts.
In order to maintain a resilient community, residents should take the time to prepare in advance and should be prepared to cope on your own during a power outage for at least 3 days.
Visit www.getprepared.gc.ca for resources.
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