REMINDER: North Island residents will be left in the dark for hours next week. An 8-hour power outage is planned for select communities, starting this coming Monday night into Tuesday morning (Oct. 4 & 5).
According to BC Hydro, the power will be out from 10 pm until 6 am in Woss, Telegraph Cove, Alert Bay, Malcolm Island, Port McNeill, Port Alice, Port Hardy, Coal Harbour, Holberg, Quatsino, Winter Harbour, and surrounding areas.
BC Hydro says the outage is needed as its crews make repairs to electrical infrastructure.
“To keep our crews safe and the public safe, power must be switched off as we complete this work,” it notes.
With this in mind, locals are urged to protect their equipment from damage during the outage. BC Hydro says all lights should be turned off, with electric heaters, major appliances, and electronics left unplugged.
“We’ll restore the power as soon as we can,” the company adds.
But unlike a power outage this past July, this upcoming outage is overnight, which may come as a relief for some.
Back on July 15, those residing in North Island communities were hit with a 10-hour outage during the day. At the time, BC Hydro said the outage was needed as its crews performed critical maintenance work and replaced the end-of-life transmission structures that feed the area.
