233063

West Kelowna  

Power restored

4:40 a.m. update:

The power was restored to 22,000 customers, from West Kelowna to Summerland, at around 3:30 a.m.

It took BC Hydro almost nine hours to bring the communities out of the dark.

The outage occurred at around 6:45 p.m., forcing businesses to close their doors; from gas stations to movie theatres, all were left in the dark.

BC Hydro says there was a problem at a substation near Merritt.

More details to follow.

What did people do while the power was out? To find out click here.


10:15 p.m. update: 

BC Hyrdo’s Dag Sharman says crews are now on site, but are dealing with a difficult situation.

The fault in the circuit, the problem area, is in the mountains north of the highway and the terrain is challenging.

Sharman says crews are doing their best, in the pitch black, to find the cause of the outage and repair it, but their safety must come first.

BC Hydro still says they aim to have power back on by 11 p.m. but given the mountainous challenging terrain, Sharman says it may be longer. 

Power has been out for three and half hours from West Kelowna to Summerland affecting nearly 22,000 customers, including businesses.

If you are a business owner affected by this outage, email us at [email protected]


UPDATE 9:30 P.M.

BC Hydro crews are still estimating power will be returned by 11 p.m. for the nearly 22,000 customers in the dark.

We are expecting an update from them soon, details to come. 


8:15 p.m. update:

BC Hydro's Dag Sharman says crews are on their way to determine what is causing the fault in the circuit. 

The current estimate of 11 p.m. may change once crews arrive and evaluate the situation.

Homes from the West Kelowna to Summerland are entirely in the black. 

How are you spending the power outage? Any good tips to enjoy your time in the dark? Send your stories to [email protected]


7:25 p.m. update:

BC Hydro says the outage stems from an issue with the transmission line 30 kilometres east of Merritt, coming from the Nicola substation.

Crews are on their way, and at this time it is not known what is causing the outage. 

BC Hydro is still estimating power will be returned by 11 p.m. for the nearly 22,000 customers without power. 


7:15 p.m. update:

BC Hydro is now estimating power will be returned by 11 p.m. for the nearly 22,000 customers without power. 

Unconfirmed sources tell Castanet the outage may be a result of a transmitter failure on the Coquihalla. 

More details to come. 


ORIGINAL:

Power is out for the majority of West Kelowna, Peachland and parts of Summerland Wednesday afternoon affecting nearly 22,000 homes. 

According to BC Hydro, the power went out at 6:36 p.m. and is being blamed on a 'Transmission circuit failure', which they define as a transmission outage affecting a large area or a number of substations.

BC Hydro estimates power will be back on by 8 p.m. tonight. 

More details to come. 



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