Saskatchewan’s Crown utility says a major buildup of frost is to blame for knocking out power to about 200,000 in the province on Tuesday. The outage hit Regina, Moose Jaw and spread through most of the province’s southeast and northwards. Misty and foggy conditions in the past week with no sun caused frost to stick to power lines. Around 9:00 Tuesday morning, extensive transmission damage caused from heavy frost build up, tripped generators at Boundary Dam, Shand and Poplar River, leaving tens of thousands of customers in the dark.
SaskPower says crews restored electricity to customers in east and southeastern Saskatchewan around 10:30 last night, however, the outages kicked in again today. Some areas are back up and running but those regions impacted earlier included Cudworth, Wakaw, Aberdeen, Viscount, Bruno, Meacham, Alvena, Vonda, Colonsay and all surrounding rural areas. Moose Jaw, Caronport, Avonlea, Belle Plaine, and all surrounding rural areas have again got power.
SaskPower Spokesperson Jordan Jackle says crews began permanent fixes today to the heavily damaged areas. Problems are still popping up and you can check the status of the latest outages by clicking on this link: https://outagemap.saskpower.com/
(with files from CKRM)
