City Explains Recent Power Outages
File photo - Medicine Hat City Hall
Medicine Hat, AB) – The City of Medicine Hat is reporting a higher-than-normal number of power outages over the past two months, but officials say the local power grid is still performing better than the national average.
Since May 27, the city has recorded nine separate outages. According to Gillian Reimer, the city’s Manager of Marketing and Creative Services, that number is more frequent than what the city usually sees.
In a recent response to questions about the outages, the city broke down the causes:
Two outages were caused by outside objects hitting power lines. One was a fallen tree branch, and the other was a helium balloon.
Two more were weather-related. One came from a lightning strike, and another was caused by high winds that pushed power lines together.
One brief outage was intentional. City staff noticed high demand on one part of the system and manually redirected power to balance the load. This was done to prevent a larger, unplanned blackout.
Two outages were traced to damaged equipment. In many cases, the city can find the exact cause, such as a car accident or animal contact. However, for these two, the exact source of the damage could not be found.
The remaining outages were caused by a blown fuse and a blown breaker.
The city explained that in cases involving tree branches, balloons, lightning, and wind, the protective systems worked the way they were designed. These safety features shut off power briefly to protect the wider system and prevent more serious damage.
Even with the recent string of outages, the City of Medicine Hat says its overall reliability remains strong. The city reports an average of 0.56 outages per customer per year, with each outage lasting an average of 0.64 hours. Officials say these numbers continue to beat the national statistics for power reliability across Canada.
The city has not indicated any further planned outages at this time. Residents are reminded to report any downed power lines or unusual equipment issues to city utilities directly.
