About 6,000 BC Hydro customers still without power after windstorms across the province

About 6,000 BC Hydro customers remain without power after two weekend windstorms, with most of the remaining outages in the Central Interior, the utility says.

The storms knocked out power to nearly 415,000 customers across British Columbia starting Friday (Nov. 6). BC Hydro says it has restored service to 99 per cent of affected customers.

Damage north and east of Prince George includes about 200 spans of downed wire, numerous broken poles and damaged electrical equipment, according to BC Hydro.

“We’ve now restored power to 99 per cent of customers impacted by these storms, but our job isn’t finished until every customer is back on,” said Whitney Deane, BC Hydro spokesperson.

“Our crews have been working around the clock since Friday through some very challenging conditions. We know it has been a long few days for customers who are still without power, and we appreciate their patience as our crews work through these final, complex repairs.”

Repairs continue in the Central Interior 

Some customers in the hardest-hit rural areas north and east of Prince George face outages lasting multiple days, with restoration expected no earlier than late Tuesday (Nov. 12) evening, BC Hydro says.

Crews are rebuilding damaged sections of the electrical system, replacing poles and crossarms and restringing wire. Some repairs require specialized equipment and additional crews because of the scale and location of the damage.

Fallen trees and debris are blocking access to some damaged infrastructure, while soft ground is limiting where heavy equipment can operate.

BC Hydro says it has brought additional crews, contractors and specialized equipment into the region and is shifting resources from other parts of the province as repairs are completed.

More weather expected

BC Hydro is monitoring more weather systems expected to move through the province in the coming days.

The utility says its storm rooms remain active, with crews, contractors and equipment being repositioned to help restore service and respond to new outages.

It is urging customers to keep their 72-hour emergency kits stocked and mobile devices charged in case of further outages.

Power line safety and outage updates

BC Hydro warns that downed power lines should always be treated as energized and dangerous. People should stay at least 10 metres away from downed, damaged or low-hanging wires and call 911 immediately to report them.

Outage information and estimated restoration times are available through the BC Hydro mobile app or at bchydro.com/outages.

BC Hydro also provides storm and outage preparedness information at bchydro.com/safety-outages