Temporary fix in place, but Summerside's power grid remains vulnerable, mayor says
Mayor and residents want a long-term solution for ongoing power issues
Summerside Mayor Dan Kutcher says a planned overnight power outage that was needed to help stabilize the city's power grid went well, but its electrical system remains vulnerable.
The outage, scheduled from 1 to 6 a.m. AT, allowed Maritime Electric to connect Summerside to a mobile transformer at the Sherbrooke Substation. This temporary solution comes after a failure at the substation led to ongoing power challenges for the city over the past two weeks.
Kutcher said about half of the city lost power around 1 a.m. Thursday, followed by an almost full-city outage at 3 a.m. Power was fully restored by 5:30 a.m., about half an hour earlier than scheduled.
While the mobile transformer — which Maritime Electric brought in from Newfoundland — has now been installed, the mayor said it is only a short-term fix and does not guarantee long-term reliability.
"We're happy that it's there, but the vulnerability continues," he told CBC's Island Morning.
Kutcher said he has not yet received a clear timeline from Maritime Electric on a permanent fix at the Sherbrooke Substation.
Turbulent month for Summerside power
P.E.I.'s second-biggest city, which operates its own utility Summerside Electric, has faced significant power disruptions this month. While the city generates about 60 per cent of its electricity through renewable sources and diesel generators, it depends on Maritime Electric's transmission grid for power purchased from New Brunswick.
The failure at the Sherbrooke Substation has destabilized the city's power supply, limiting access to outside electricity and causing ongoing power issues.
The situation has left many residents frustrated, including Pam Asaph, who says she wants to see a permanent solution.
"Maritime Electric needs to be responsible for this. I mean, it's not like we're a different province or different country," she said.
Summerside Electric 'national leader'
Kutcher said Maritime Electric, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Fortis Inc., in the past has asked to take over Summerside Electric, but the mayor said the utility is not for sale.
"The Summerside Electric utility, right now, is a national leader. We've got people looking to us to see how we should be doing things, and Maritime Electric should be one of them. We've got a good mix of a variety of different generation assets and a robust, well-built system," he said.
"We're always on edge and aware of the possibility of Maritime Electric looking to do what it can to try and take over the assets of the City of Summerside … I sort of see a repeated pattern over many years of trying to box Summerside into a situation where it is, and hopefully we get to the provincial government that's going to see that as well."
The city will continue to lobby to get direct access to the government-owned submarine cables that bring electricity from the mainland so that Summerside doesn't have to rely on Maritime Electric to transmit the energy it buys from NB Power, Kutcher said.
Hard work from staff
Kutcher said the overnight power outage went well thanks to Summerside Electric's staff.
He noted that the past few weeks of long hours and intense work have taken a toll on the staff and their families.
"Our crew there has been running on 12-hour shifts, and then going home and getting some sleep and something to eat," the mayor said.
The city's power challenges have been managed thanks to the efficient operation of Summerside's solar and wind farms, as well as the use of battery storage, he said.
The city has also relied on its fleet of eight diesel generators, which had been running at full capacity for the past two weeks. With the temporary fix at Sherbrooke Substation in place, their use will now be reduced by about 90 per cent, Kutcher said.
"Without our assets — whether there are diesel, the wind or the solar and the battery — we would have been rolling blackouts right through the last two weeks, and so we've been able to pull it all together."
With files from Island Morning and Tony Davis