Power will be cut on Gabriola Island for upwards of 11 hours on Wednesday and Thursday this week. (Alex Rawnsley/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

ONE MORE STEP

Pair of 11-hour power outages due for Gabriola Island

Dec 6, 2022 | 9:43 AM

GABRIOLA ISLAND — It’s hoped one last round of work will finally bring the region some normalcy.

BC Hydro will cut power to over 4,000 residents of Gabriola Island between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. both Wednesday, Dec. 7 and Thursday, Dec. 8 to conduct repairs on damaged equipment.

Issues were discovered Sunday, Dec. 4 while TELUS crews worked to re-establish severed communication lines to the Island.

“Currently, we are relying on the one remaining circuit to power the Island,” a service notice from BC Hydro read. “Until repairs are completed, it’s critical residents continue to conserve electricity so we can provide power to as many customers as possible.”

A spokesperson from BC Hydro told NanaimoNewsNOW work will include using a helicopter to fly in a new line and reduced capacity on the power grid will remain until the new connection can be fully installed.

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The spokesperson also said customers on Gabriola Island were doing well in conserving power and there hadn’t been any issues or rolling blackouts.

Updates on the outage will be posted to the BC Hydro website.

Vital communications lines, including internet and home phone, were largely off across Gabriola Island from the winter storm which hit Tuesday, Nov. 29.

Access to 911 was also significantly disrupted with an overwhelming majority of residents unable to call.

Cell service was also spotty as a result of the outage, with people on Island flocking to beaches or other areas to try and connect to service through Nanaimo cell towers.

First responders on Gabriola Island were critical with TELUS on the level of communication afforded to them during the outage.

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