N.B. needs tougher power grid, poles to withstand ice storms, Green leader says
LAMEQUE, N.B. — NB Power needs to rebuild its shattered network with tougher gear to help it withstand violent ice storms like the one that toppled power poles like dominoes last week, New Brunswick’s Green leader says.
“The poles can’t stand up to these kinds of storms,” David Coon said as thousands of customers awaited the return of electricity in northern New Brunswick on Wednesday, more than a week after the devastating storm.
Coon recalled the 1998 ice storm that required army assistance in New Brunswick, Quebec, eastern Ontario and the northeastern United States, adding there has been a steady stream of violent storms that he said demands tougher standards for NB Power’s distribution system.
“This is getting you to steel poles and burying lines in some areas,” said Coon, the sole Green member of the legislature.