Last Night’s Power Outage | Tuesday, November 30, 2010

A problem on Yukon Energy’s transmission line between Carmacks and Faro resulted in a power outlast night to parts of the Central and Southern Yukon. Power went out at 7:01 p.m. to the following areas:

• Riverdale
• Carcross
• Teslin
• Marsh Lake
• Tagish
• Johnson’s Crossing
• Deep Creek
• Faro
• Carmacks
• Ross River
• Minto mine
• Pelly Crossing

Power was restored to Riverdale in 5 minutes, 35 sec.

Carcross, Marsh Lake, Tagish and Johnson’s Crossing were restored in 3 minutes 40 sec.

Teslin automatically switched to local diesel, meaning power was only out for a minute or two.

Deep Creek was restored after about 15 minutes.

Faro was out for about 18 minutes until we could island it from the grid and provide local diesel. It remains on diesel this morning.

Ross River automatically switched to local diesel.

Carmacks automatically switched to local diesel.

Pelly Crossing and the Mino mine were restored after about 20 minutes.

The transmission line between Carmacks and Faro remains de-energized until a Yukon Energy crew can inspect it. The crew will attempt to do an aerial patrol today if weather permits. If not, the staff will conduct a ground inspection.

We apologize to all those who were affected by this power outage.

Get Informed; Get Involved | Monday, November 29, 2010

Yukon Energy is going to be out and about over the next few weeks bringing you up to date on the work we've been doing over the last several months.

Yukon Energy Corporation/Yukon Development Corporation
Annual General Meeting
Tuesday Dec. 7th
6:30 p.m.
Westmark Whitehorse

You're invited to come with your questions and comments about anything from a possible wind farm in Yukon, to our work on geo-thermal, waste-to-energy, or new and enhanced hydro. You can also find out how you can get involved in helping to plan Yukon's energy future.

We also have plans to update stakeholders and the public on the fieldwork we did over the summer and fall with regards to our Southern Lakes Enhancement Concepts and our Gladstone Diversion Concept. The following Open Houses are scheduled:

Atlin Community Centre
Thursday Dec. 9
3 - 7 p.m.

Marsh Lake Community Centre
Wednesday Dec. 15
6:30 - 8:30 p.m.

Tagish Community Club
Thursday Dec. 16
7 -  8:30 p.m.

What About a Transmission Line Between Teslin and Watson Lake | Monday, November 29, 2010

Today's question: Are there any plans to connect Watson Lake to the grid by running a line from Teslin?

The short answer is no, at least not in the near term. At this point there aren't enough customers to justify the cost of such a line. In the longer term, we might look at building a line if we were able to connect to the North American grid, something that is currently unaffordable for us.

Wind and Wave Action on Atlin Lake | Monday, November 15, 2010

Question: It's blowing 30 knots in Atlin today, with water over the breakwater! This is with the lake level down at least a meter from 'normal' high water. Do you have any idea what it would look like with the lake at its 'normal peak level'?

Wave action is definitely part of our research into whether the Atlin concept can actually be a viable project. Once we have gathered and analyzed the data related to wind and wave action we will share it with Atlin residents, the Taku River Tlingit First Nation and interested stakeholders.

How Does a Demand Meter Work? | Friday, November 12, 2010

Today's question: How does a demand meter work and when is a person required to use one?

A demand meter looks very much like the meters that are installed at residential homes. Residential meters measure the amount of electricity consumed by a household, allowing utilities to determine how much that household should be charged for power on any given month. Demand meters are installed for all businesses. As well as measuring the amount of electricity used, these meters also record the peak consumption of power. It's necessary for the utility to have this information, since Yukon business customers are required to pay not only an energy charge but also a demand charge for peak usage.

So the short answer is that if you operate a business, small or large, you are required to have a demand meter for that business.  

Follow-up questions: Is there a separate rate for farms or agriculture? If a demand meter is based on the peak power consumption, does that change from month to month? For a seasonal business that only runs five months a year what would it end up costing the farmer during the other seven months when very little power is used?

If you are receiving an income from your farm, then Yukon Energy considers it to be a business and you are charged the same rate as any other business.

As to the second part of the question, both consumption and demand charges are a part of the power bill for each business customer. The reason businesses must pay a demand charge when residential customers do not is that the consumption and demand for electricity by commercial customers typically varies much more widely than it does for residential customers. Some businesses need large amounts of electricity only rarely, and others need it almost constantly. Even if a particular business only needs a large amount of power for a short amount of time during any given year, the utility must provide the equipment necessary to provide that power. The demand charge essentially pays for that necessary equipment.

In summary, even if a commercial farmer uses power for five months of the year, he or she must pay a demand charge for 12 months of the year.

Aishihik’s New Addition | Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Construction of a third seven megawatt turbine at our Aishihik hydro plant is well underway. We expect the unit to be in service next year. However, the Aishihik water license stipulates that the Yukon Water Board must approve an operating plan before Yukon Energy can run all three turbines at the same time.

We recently received word that the Water Board has approved our plan, giving us the ability to operate all turbines as necessary.

The plan outlines the most efficient use of the turbines for the water available. At lower generation levels, the third (smaller) turbine is much more efficient than the two existing larger (15 megawatt) units. In the summer when we only need to generate small amounts of electricity at Aishihik, we’ll rely on the third turbine to meet our needs. The water we save in the summer can then be used to run all three units in the winter, when demand is higher. With the same amount of annual water consumption, we can generate an additional seven megawatts of hydro and therefore displace that amount of diesel fuel and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by about 3,800 tonnes each year.
 

Mega Bolts! | Friday, November 5, 2010

Imagine trying to remove a 5,900 kilogram (13,000 pound), 15 meter (50 foot) long bolt from a piece of equipment. Not a job for your average hand-held wrench! But that’s the challenge some of our staff faced recently.

There are gates at the Whitehorse dam that move up and down to control the amount of water we spill at any given time. The equipment needed to operate these gates includes a series of gears encased in metal boxes (known as a gear-boxes), and two 15 meter (50 foot) bolts. 

After more than 50 years of continuous operation, the bolts needed re-furbishing and the gear boxes had to be replaced. To do this work, we enlisted the help of a large crane.

Everything went well, although the lifts taxed the crane to its maximum capacity both in terms of height and weight. In fact, for the lift of the second bolt, two bottom plates had to be removed to reduce the bolt’s length by close to half a meter (18 inches) and reduce the weight by more than 360 kilograms (800 pounds)!

The bolts have been shipped down south for refurbishment and we've ordered new gearboxes. The new/refurbished pieces should be installed in a few weeks.