BC Hydro: 40,000 still without power after B.C. storm

About 40,000 BC Hydro customers were still without power at 8 a.m. Saturday, down from a peak of roughly 80,000 during Friday’s windstorm, and the utility said more outages are likely as further storms arrive.

BC Hydro said crews were focused on Port Hardy, Courtenay, Qualicum and Prince George, according to reports from CHEK News and other B.C. outlets. In Prince George, 13,878 customers in the central Interior were without power Saturday morning, and a later update from local media put the figure at about 11,000 customers around 9 a.m. Sources differed slightly on the totals and timing, and the numbers change as crews restore service.

The utility said its meteorologists are closely watching two, and likely three, more weather systems expected to affect the coast and other regions of the province between now and mid-week. BC Hydro also said strong winds are expected to continue through the weekend, which could bring new outages before crews finish repairs from Friday’s storm.

Environment Canada had issued wind warnings for parts of the South Coast, as we reported for Metro Vancouver and Victoria. The same storm system disrupted marine travel, with BC Ferries cancelling sailings on Thursday and more cancellations reported as the warnings continued, according to CBC News.

BC Hydro advises customers to stay at least 10 metres away from downed, damaged or low-hanging power lines and to call 911 to report them. Customers can check the utility’s outage map for current numbers and estimated restoration times in their area.

For households in outage-prone areas, the storm is a reminder to have a plan. Our guide to portable power stations in Canada covers options for keeping phones, medical devices and heating controls running during a long outage.

This is a developing story and will be updated as BC Hydro releases new figures.

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