Open letter to City of Kelowna complaint department re: Fortis BC power outages:
Last night (July 8, 2014), starting at approximately 5:30 p.m., we were forced to endure over 20 power outages. Each power outage was five to 10 seconds long, and five to 10 minutes apart.
The initial report by Fortis was that the demand in our area (east Upper Mission) exceeded the supply, thus the constant resets of our electrical service supply.
We know what Fortis’ explanation will be: With everyone arriving at home after work, and turning all of their air conditioners and other appliances on at the same time, and due to the excessive heat wave we are currently experiencing, events like this will happen.
BS! How about a better explanation: Your infrastructure is feeble, the system needs upgrading, and you are truly sorry for being so inept at carrying out your duties as a sole source supplier of electrical services in this city.
If Fortis cannot maintain a constant power service in our area at this time, what is the potential for more frequent power outages in the near future after more homes are constructed in the Upper Mission?
We cannot put a UPS and battery back-up on each of our TVs, satellite receivers, DVRs, Internet routers, dishwashers, washers/dryers, etc., to counter the effects of these outages. Outages and surges not only wreak havoc on electronic devices, they create frustration for the consumers and taxpayers who must use Fortis if they want electricity delivered to their homes.
Each home electronic device can take upwards of five minutes to recycle through the various boot-up stages before they are back available and online. By the time they’re up and running again—POOF—another power outage.
We are asking the City of Kelowna to use what means they have to fine or punish Fortis for this latest event. We are also asking Fortis to compensate us for the frustration and the constant cycling/recycling abuse of our home electronic devices. This is not an isolated event. Our home, over the course of 12 months, has had no fewer than 10+ electrical outages.
Also, before allowing any further mega-developments in our area, please be sure that the infrastructure is in place to handle the additional demands on the current service supplies.
Denis & Mickie Hostland,
Kelowna
