Power outage allows for necessary line work

Tim Brody - Editor

Power was out for area residents last Sunday from approximately 8:30 a.m. to just before 4 p.m.
The scheduled power interruption affected all Sioux Lookout Hydro customers including Hudson, Alcona and Hwy 72 South, as well as Hydro One customers in Frenchman’s Head, Whitefish Bay and Kejick Bay.
According to Sioux Lookout Hydro, the outage was required by Hydro One to perform maintenance on the K3D transmission line.
“Normally we can expect to have one of these types of outages per year. In some years there have been two depending on the scope of repairs needed to the transmission line,” shared Deanne Kulchyski, President/CEO of Sioux Lookout Hydro.
“Most of the repairs the workers do is live line, so we aren’t affected by it. But there is some work that can’t be done this way. So yes, due to the fact that we have a radial feed coming in, it is necessary for Hydro One to schedule these outages,” she advised.
Asked about tying into other sources of power such as the Wataynikaneyap Transmission Project, Kulchyski informed, “Utilizing the Watay Transmission Line to provide us with another source of power has definitely come up, and may be investigated more thoroughly in the future - not just for reliability but for growth as well.”