Recent power outages and public hearings are shaping a growing discussion about power demand and capacity in the territory.
The city of Yellowknife, the Yellowknives Dene First Nation, Ndilo and Behchokǫ̀ experienced multiple power outages in April. What some suggest may be the largest recorded power outage in the region’s history ended on Saturday afternoon, but the event has fueled an ongoing discussion across the territory.
On Saturday, intermittent outages saw some area residents experiencing up to 7 hours without power. Jay Massie, who is Naka Power’s vice president, told True North FM, that the outage affected 9, 046 customers.
“Saturday we had a fairly integral and main piece of equipment, a breaker in one of our substations by Niven that failed that was the cause of the outage Saturday. And it’s a fairly centralised or important substation,” Massie said.
“There’s three substations that feed the city of Yellowknife. So when we lost the one, due to that failed piece of equipment, that caused the large outage for the rest of the city,” Massie explained.
In Yellowknife, the power outage interrupted everything from play premieres to weekend shopping.
The Northern Arts and Cultural Centre’s Manager of Comuniications Kacie Hall said that the centre has never had a show cancellation of this nature before.
“This was new territory for both our team and our patrons,” she told True North FM.
“On Saturday, we made the incredibly tough decision to cancel the one night showing of Children of God due to the prolonged power outages in Yellowknife,” she lamented.
Hall said the centre was very grateful for everyone’s patience as they continue to work through the situation.
“We’re still in the process of evaluating the impacts of this cancellation. Our team is first and foremost focused on connecting with our patrons who were affected by this situation. We’re very grateful for how patient and understanding the community has been regarding this situation, and we hope that those impacted will return to the theatre for future NACC performances so we can ensure they get the theatre-going experience they missed out on this past weekend.
Big box stores like Walmart and Dollarama in Yellowknife blacked out for nearly two hours at a time. “The first power outage lasted an hour and a half,” a Walmart staff member told True North FM.
Electricity came back on but only to get cut off again later in the afternoon. The second outage lasted over one hour.
Without power Walmart’s large building on Old Airport Road lost heat quickly. Walmart staff helped customers to keep warm and get back to their cars. Once power returned, the registers had to be rebooted, which took about 30 minutes more. Many carts filled with unpurchased merchandise were left abandoned at the store.
Across the street at Dollarama, it was a similar story. Customers lined up outside or waited by in their cars, hoping the outage would end so they could get their weekend shopping done.
Staff monitored the store until power came back online. Two Dollarama staff members stayed outside talking with patrons to help reassure them the power would likely return soon.
“Why is it taking so long?” asked one customer. “I thought the problem was fixed,” another customer asked.
Nearby restaurants did what they could to serve customers already seated at tables but had to turn new patrons away.
Many community members across Yellowknife and surrounding regions flocked to Dettah’s Spring Carnival which continued uninterrupted, thanks in part to backup power.
In Dettah, people were busy having fun and making the most of the community’s annual festival.
Yellowknives Dene First Nation Chief Ernest Betsina told True North FM that thanks to a backup generator, the indoor activities also continued.
Nothing could stop the Spring Carnival, where despite major power outages, the festivities continued in full swing. Outdoors and indoors the community bustled with activities from the legendary dog sled races to tea boiling competitions, Talent shows, a Drum Dance and a community feast.
Monday and Tuesday, NWT’s Utilities Board public hearings brought to the surface debates about power supplies and shortfalls across the territory.
The hearings saw continued discussion about power supply, demand and cost.
Representatives from NWT’s Power Corp shared a detailed history of the efforts the company has made, especially over the last few years with the Halston overhaul. Naka Power spoke about the work their company is doing to distribute power in efficient and innovative ways.
In response, representatives from hydro communities on NWT’s power grid were critical of power operations and management in the territory.
At Tuesday’s engagement session, Fort Smith’s Deputy Mayor Mike Keizer said it’s hydro communities who are ultimately paying the price.
Tuesday evening saw another outage in parts of Yellowknife and Ndilo.
Jay Massie, who is Naka’s vice president, told True North FM the outage began at about 6:20 pm and affected 1, 849 customers. This time the issue was resolved within 30 minutes.
Massie explained that an electrical piece of equipment was the cause of Tuesday’s outage. Naka’s technicians were on site immediately after an alarm system spotted the issue. Technicians offloaded the piece of equipment and reconfigured the system.
Naka has also replaced the breaker that caused Saturday’s outage.
The company has installed and is currently commissioning and testing a new breaker to replace the one that malfunctioned. Massie told True North FM that the breaker should be operational within the next two days or so.
In the meantime, the power distribution system has been reconfigured to supply the city from the other two substations.
Massie told True North FM that Naka is taking extensive precautionary measures and troubleshooting to prevent future outages.
Naka’s equipment is inspected and tested regularly. Key indicators like temperatures, electrical connections and loads are monitored daily, he said.
Massie explained that the breaker that malfunctioned Saturday had not shown any signs of degradation prior to the outage.
The breaker is being tested and investigated to understand what exactly failed inside of it.
Massie said that Naka is committed to continuing to work with NWT Power Coporation to ensure power is delivered to communities.
“It is a coordinated effort between Naka and NTPC to ge the lights back on. We’re committed to sitting down and chatting with them,” said Massie.
Doug Prendergast, who is the communications manager at NWT’s Power Corp. told True North that the company has “comprehensive preventive maintenance programs” to support its operations.
“When outages occur, an investigation is carried out by our Operations staff to identify a root cause. We also have an Outage Investigation Committee that meets monthly to review past outages to review root causes and then consider options to prevent their recurrence,” said Prendergast.
“A Reliability Improvement Committee, including senior NTPC leaders, also meets on a regular basis to review reliability performance,” he added.
Prendergast said the company’s preventive maintenance program is designed to identify any potential problems before they occur.
“The intent is to ensure that all equipment is in a good state of repair, regardless of age. The program includes regular inspection of infrastructure, replacement and/or repair of parts and equipment when necessary, scheduled engine overhauls and other activities,” he said.
“Investigations take a look at all of the available information in the period leading up to and following an outage including ambient conditions, age and condition of equipment, past performance, inspection records and visual observations,” added Prendergast.
