Image: Pattison Media, B100 / A lineman works on power lines.

By Mike Vanden Bosch

BC Hydro power outage in Chilliwack

BC Hydro faults equipment malfunction for massive power outage in Chilliwack

Aug 16, 2023 | 2:19 PM

CHILLIWACK — BC Hydro says a substation failed Tuesday night, leading to a massive power outage that affected thousands of customers in Sardis, Cultus Lake, Yarrow, Promontory, and parts of Chilliwack.

A total of 19,106 customers in Chilliwack and Abbotsford saw their power go out at about 8:07 p.m. Tuesday (August 15), leading to a flood of social media posts about the outage.

BC Hydro spokesperson Kevin Aquino says the Crown corporation had an equipment malfunction.

“The outage was not heat-related or due to the additional load from air conditioning and fans,” Aquino said in an emailed statement Wednesday afternoon. “Unfortunately, we had an equipment malfunction at the substation serving parts of Abbotsford and Chilliwack just after 8 p.m. Crews were able to quickly identify the issue last night and restore power to a large portion of the customers impacted were back on within an hour. The remainder of the customers were restored by about 10 p.m.”

Many Chilliwack residents began reporting around 8:40 p.m. that power was starting to come back.

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Power outages of that magnitude are rare in Chilliwack but do occur.

Earlier in the week, BC Hydro set a new record for the highest August peak hourly demand – the hour customers use the most electricity – on Monday night when temperatures soared across much of the province.

On Monday night, preliminary analysis found consumption reached over 8,400 megawatts as British Columbians turned to air conditioning (AC) and fans in an effort to beat the heat. On average, heat waves can result in an addition of over 1,000 megawatts, which is the equivalent of turning on about 1 million portable AC units.

Electricity demand is expected to remain high until temperatures decrease, Hydro said in a news release dated Tuesday, August 15. While the demand for power is higher-than-average with the hot temperatures, BC Hydro wants to assure its customers that its renewable and reliable, hydroelectric system can meet the additional demand. While the demand on the electricity system will be higher, it is about three-quarters of winter peak loads. BC Hydro records the highest demand for electricity in the winter months during the coldest and darkest days of the year.