Power outages in Summerside less likely but conservation still encouraged, says mayor

While the power situation in Summerside is improving and blackouts are less likely, the city's mayor says it is "still vulnerable" and officials remain on high alert. 

Maritime Electric still can't say how long it will take to fix problems with a damaged transformer at its Sherbrooke substation, which remains a "big issue," Mayor Dan Kutcher said in a video posted to Facebook Friday afternoon. 

"We are still vulnerable if something else — ours or theirs — were to fail," he warned.

For a fifth evening in a row, residents of Summerside are being encouraged to continue conserving energy during peak consumption periods, with Kutcher suggesting: "If you want to have a candlelight dinner... on Valentine's Day, this would be the year." 

Summerside has increased its own electricity generation this week through its existing windmills, solar farms, batteries and diesel generators. That has allowed the city of 17,000 people to replace the electricity it is no longer getting through Maritime Electric's transmission lines, Kutcher said. 

Maritime Electric has also reconfigured transmission lines across Prince Edward Island to improve stability and increase the amount of power and transmission available, Kutcher said. 

A collective effort

The conservation efforts made by all Islanders — not just Summerside residents — helped the city keep its lights on this week, the mayor said. 

"That's what neighbours do, so thank you. We will not forget that." 

How does P.E.I.'s electrical grid even work? CBC Explains

6 days ago

Duration 3:07

With recent outages shining a light on the fact that the P.E.I. electrical grid is nearing capacity, you may be wondering how the Island gets power in the first place — or what the difference is between Summerside Electric and Maritime Electric. Here's a breakdown from CBC's Cody MacKay.

Summerside has reopened municipal facilities and stopped running small facility generators, like the one in city hall, Kutcher said. Businesses that were running on generators are able to turn those off now too, he said. 

Calling them "the best in the business," the mayor also issued a shout-out to members of the crews that worked on the power lines in Summerside this week: "Thank you to them and especially to their families who haven't seen much of them this week."

What comes next? 

Summerside is continuing to plan and prepare for contingencies, Kutcher said. 

"While we're a long way from being out of the woods dealing with the larger issues and fundamental problems, I'd like to think that right now we are in a safe clearing," he said. 

"We will continue to work with the province — who have been excellent through all of this — to find a better way ultimately for direct access to the undersea cables that bring electricity to the Island."