Power Outages: what's happening and what it means

Maritime Electric said there were hundreds of power outages over the winter in West Prince alone, but it expects that number to drop by about 55 per cent with the commissioning of the new switching station. Power Outages has emerged this Friday as one of the stories drawing attention in Canada.

Key facts

• Maritime Electric said there were hundreds of power outages over the winter in West Prince alone, but it expects that number to drop by about 55 per cent with the commissioning of the new switching station.
• Maritime Electric says Islanders in western P.E.I. are in for more reliable power.
• Maritime Electric said the infrastructure cost around $13.8M.
• Still, Pakistan has moved to tap the spot market for the first time in nearly three years as the lack of fixed-term Qatari supply has triggered a power crisis and widespread outages.
• 2 days Japan Weighs $3 Billion Power Subsidies as LNG Crunch Bites.

What we know

Going deeper, Maritime Electric says Islanders in western P.E.I. are in for more reliable power.

On the substance, Maritime Electric said the infrastructure cost around $13.8M.

Beyond the headlines, Still, Pakistan has moved to tap the spot market for the first time in nearly three years as the lack of fixed-term Qatari supply has triggered a power crisis and widespread outages.

More precisely, 2 days Japan Weighs $3 Billion Power Subsidies as LNG Crunch Bites.

It is worth noting that the utility’s new switching substation in Woodstock has been online since March and is now fully operational.

By the numbers

At this stage, the utility said the infrastructure cost around $13.8 million.

On a related note, It’s part of an existing increase of about 0.54 per cent that was approved as part of the utility’s 2024 operating budget.

Going deeper, the Woodstock station is also equipped with a 50-megawatt transformer, adding on to the 100-megawatt station in Sherbrooke, just north of Summerside.

On the substance, the Woodstock project was first introduced in 2021, but Riveroll said constraints with the supply chain as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic pushed back the start date for construction until 2023.

What they're saying

“The main reason we put that there is to improve reliability,” said Enrique Riveroll, the vice-president of sustainability and customer operations with Maritime Electric.

“There’s a lot of customers up there that now have better reliability than they had in the past.”

“We’re always looking to improve the reliability of our system, so if you can create … a backup for when there’s a problem, then your reliability is going to be really good.”

The wider context

On a related note, Until now, Riveroll said, all substations in the western part of the Island were fed by just one transmission line — so if there was a problem, multiple areas would be without power.

Going deeper, So if there’s a problem on one line, then all the power will be rerouted through the second,” Riveroll said.

On the substance, He said the utility is adding about two new substations across P.E.I. every year to keep up with the growing demand on the Island's power supply, so the new Woodstock station is just one more important step.

Beyond the headlines, Maritime Electric raises '112-megawatt problem,' as MLAs call for performance-based profits.

More precisely, Maritime Electric makes final arguments in application to recoup $41.2M in Fiona costs.

The bottom line

• The utility’s new switching substation in Woodstock has been online since March and is now fully operational.
• The utility said the infrastructure cost around $13.8 million.
• The Woodstock station is also equipped with a 50-megawatt transformer, adding on to the 100-megawatt station in Sherbrooke, just north of Summerside.
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