Did the all-day power outage affect your business? The Port Hardy Chamber of Commerce wants to hear from you.
“The Aug. 13 planned power outage came at the worst possible time for our tourism operators and other businesses who were trying to make the most of a short season with COVID-19 restrictions in place,” stated executive director Elizabeth Aman-Hume via news release. “At the time I made a phone call to BC Hydro to express our concerns. As it was explained to me, there was no other time for this work to be done due to the complexity of the operation and the need for good weather.”
Aman-Hume then noted that in most parts of B.C. “power line maintenance does not involve a full day outage on a week day. The technology exists to direct power to the North Island grid during planned outages - and it requires a ‘switch’ to be installed.”
Port Hardy Mayor Dennis Dugas and district councillors will be discussing this issue with BC Hydro and the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources in September, emphasizing the importance of a switch so the North Island can benefit from the wind farm and run of the river facilities in our region.
“You can help to make a strong case for installing this switch by taking a minute now to respond to this very short survey,” added Aman-Hume. “The answers you give do not have to be exact, approximations are fine. This information will be given to mayor and council in advance of their meetings.”
To take the survey, please go to https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/P8RHFY7
@NIGazette
editor@northislandgazette.com
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