11 hours ago
Discovery Ridge resident irked by repetitive power outages
A resident of Discovery Ridge is voicing frustration at being kept in the dark — literally and figuratively — after four unplanned power outages in his neighbourhood earlier this month.
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He said the outages knocked out electricity at approximately 650 homes for more than an hour each time in the community that lies just outside Calgary's southwest ring road.
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The outages occurred June 9, 11, 14 and 19, with Enmax reporting different causes each time. Those came after another outage in Discovery Ridge on May 7, which Enmax attributed to an attempted theft of electricity infrastructure material.
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An emailed response to homeowners from the utility provider, in response to an inquiry from the Ward 6 office, suggested the recent outages were related to factors beyond ENMAX Power's control. They included public interference, wildlife interference and 'environmental factors' faulting overhead electrical equipment.
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'A repair has since been completed to address the issue, and we don't anticipate further outages in the area related to this cause,' said a spokesperson with Enmax.
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As a home-based business owner with two sons both studying remotely, Robert J said losing internet service is frustrating, even if only temporarily.
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'To lose power is not totally abnormal, but to lose it four times in two weeks? Something different is going on,' he said.
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'Imagine if this was downtown or somewhere with a hospital. The uncertainty would be frustrating.'
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Before the five most recent blackouts, power outages in his neighbourhood were fairly rare, according to the resident who has lived there since 2001.
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He argued that after the first animal-caused outage, Enmax should have been able to figure out a way to prevent it from happening a second time. But just three days later, he noted another outage was caused by wildlife interference.
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'What are we paying for?' Robert J said.
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'I don't understand why they can't protect it from animals. You're saying the entire electrical grid can be taken down by a mouse?'
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Power outages are typically caused by external events, said Calgary-based energy consultant Sheldon Fulton. If outages are frequent and persistent in a particular area, he said homeowners have the option to contact the Alberta government's Utility Consumer Advocate at 403-310-4822.
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'There's a complaint system they can go through, so they can call the Utility Consumer Advocate, who would respond to a complaint of that nature and may or may not be able to investigate a little better than what an individual could do online,' he said.
