Photo: BC Hydro
Nearly a week after a powerful windstorm left a trail of destruction on Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands, about 7000 BC Hydro customers are still without power.
Crews from across B.C. as well as from Alberta and the Maritimes worked through Christmas to restore electricity to those affected and power is back on for 99% of Hydro customers.
BC Hydro says they continue to make good progress on Vancouver Island, but warn that it could be several days before power is fully restored on several southern Gulf Islands.
“Today, we have 100 crews in the field, there are 900 people working on the storm restoration,” said BC Hydro President Chris O’Reilly.
“By the end of the day tomorrow, we should have almost everyone back in power on Vancouver Island and the focus is now on the Gulf Islands.”
The utility says that due to extensive damage on many southern Gulf Islands, some parts of the distribution system have to be completely rebuilt.
It expected all customers will have their power restored between December 27th and December 31st.
Given the scale of the work to be done, BC Hydro is asking anyone still without power on Vancouver Island to confirm the outage with the utility at 1-800-224-9376 or *49376 on a mobile device
You can find more details about estimates for your area here
We’re in day six of restoration efforts from last week’s #BCStorm with over 100 crews are working in the field and 900 people working on storm restoration. Our President and COO Chris O’Riley shares an update. pic.twitter.com/sTfHHHUZQf
— BC Hydro (@bchydro) December 26, 2018
Ben O'Hara
