Hydro One and Lakeland Power announced that they are developing solutions to improve reliability for customers in the Bracebridge area. Hydro One will upgrade the power lines that serve Lakeland Power by increasing automation, line inspections and hazardous tree trimming to improve local power reliability. Hydro One is also proposing an alternate source of power to further reduce the frequency of power outages in the area.
Over the past couple of weeks, Lakeland Power has initiated high-level discussions with Hydro One to improve power reliability for Bracebridge.
“We are very encouraged that Hydro One has taken these reliability issues seriously. They are committed to improving and are working on proposals that will considerably improve hydro service,” explained Chris Litschko, CEO, Lakeland Power. “We now have momentum with a dedicated Hydro One team who are committed to finally resolving this issue.”
“We heard directly from Lakeland Power and their customers and we are taking action to improve reliability in the Bracebridge area,” said Jason Fitzsimmons, Chief Corporate Affairs and Customer Care Officer, Hydro One. “Outages can disrupt people’s daily lives, businesses and productivity. Through these investments, Hydro One plans to provide more reliable power that the Bracebridge region is counting on.”
Currently, Bracebridge receives its electricity from two – 44,000-volt power lines originating from the Muskoka Transformer Station in Utterson. The power lines traverse approximately 96 kilometers through rugged terrain and thick forest making them susceptible to the elements that cause power outages including fallen trees, heavy snow, high winds and lightning. The two electricity lines connect into Lakeland Power’s electricity system supplying the Bracebridge area.
I’ll believe it when I see it.
Last time the “solution” was a much better way of reporting outages, while you are in the dark…
Now the “solution” is they need another source of power?
How many years and dollars on my hydro bill does that take?
All of that is just deflecting from the fact maintenance of the existing system has fallen far, far behind.
Rugged terrain, thick forest, fallen trees, heavy snow, high winds and lightning are nothing new.
Those are all just conditions in Muskoka. Hydro used to be able to handle them.
Not any more.
There used to be hardly any failures.
Only during the rare, major storm. And even then only in the boonies.
Now it’s all year even on nice days in town.
Good luck trying to work from home up here when the power is off all the time.