Editor's Note: This article has been updated to reflect which businesses will be affected by the power outage on July 21. It is advised that if people intend to visit any of the stores listed below, or in the vicinity of Joyce Avenue and Alberni Street, that they call ahead to ensure the store is open Tuesday, July 21. Canada Safeway has informed the Peak it will be using a generator that day and will remain open.
A fraudster posing as a BC Hydro employee has been contacting local businesses telling them that they have large balances owing. The caller then threatens to disconnect power if the customer does not pay up immediately.
While few, if any, have fallen for the scam, the official BC Hydro is currently sending out letters to its customers in Powell River that power outages are planned in the near future, not, however, because of unpaid electricity bills.
The power company needs to turn off power to make necessary upgrades.
Tim Olynyk is BC Hydro’s community relations manager for Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast.
Olynyk told the Peak that there will be a planned power outage, from 8 am to 6 pm, on Tuesday, July 21. It will affect about 1,100 customers around Powell River Town Centre Mall area. The next outage, planned for September 17, is currently being coordinated with the management of Powell River General Hospital, he added.
Several businesses around the Town Centre Mall will be affected by the power outage, but the mall itself will be open Tuesday, July 21, Clint Loan, mall manager, said in an email to the Peak.
Town Centre Hotel, Tim Horton's, A&W, Canadian Tire, Safeway, Marks Work Wearhouse, Dollarama, Staples, RONA Building Centre, Starbucks and RBC will not be open that day due to the outage, he said. The outage will also affect the Barnet apartment building. The mall itself will be affected by the September upgrades, Loan added.
“We know there’s never a good time to take an outage, but in order for our crews to do this work safely this is necessary and we have to do it during daylight hours for safety,” Olynyk said.
He added that all customers impacted will have received a notice of the outage beforehand, but he wanted to make sure that the public who may need to shop or go to the bank that day understood the situation.
It will be the first of four outages necessary to undertake voltage conversion work on its lines in town, according to BC Hydro. The project, when completed, will raise power capacity for Powell River to meet current increased and future needs, Olynyk said.
Lines, transformers and insulators will be upgraded to handle the increased 25-kilovolt load.
Additional crews are being brought in from the Lower Mainland to help complete the work as quickly as possible.
Because of the possibility of power surges, he reminded people to protect sensitive electronics by unplugging them from power outlets during that time.
Olynyk said that the company expects to have all the upgrades completed by late fall 2015, and it apologizes for the inconvenience.
