Latest news with #SpencerCoyne
CBC
13-05-2025
- Climate
- CBC
FortisBC's wildire prevention plan to cut power in B.C. Interior during extreme heat suspended
Social Sharing The B.C. Utilities Commission has temporarily quashed a FortisBC plan to cut power to some customers in the southern Interior during extreme heat and wind events after a complaint from the Town of Princeton. The commission has suspended FortisBC's new "public safety power shutoff" policy, which Fortis described as a precautionary measure in which it would shut off the power in high-risk fire regions during extreme weather conditions. Fortis said the outages would prevent trees or other vegetation from catching fire when they come into contact with power lines. The BCUC decision comes as a result of complaints from the Town of Princeton that the outages would negatively affect the community. Princeton Mayor Spencer Coyne told The Early Edition earlier this week that when he first heard of the Fortis plan, he thought, "What the heck is this?" "The more I looked into it, the more concerned I became," he added. Coyne said an outage could result in a "mass evacuation of the valley." "We'd have to evacuate both hospitals, the one in Princeton and in Keremeos. We'd have to evacuate our care facilities; we'd have to evacuate anybody with high risk." Gary Toft, senior advisor for corporate communications at FortisBC, said electricity utilities across North America have been adopting power shutoffs as a precautionary measure. "It's a tool of last resort we only use during extreme weather events." The outages would only be used in situations with very high winds, high heat, low humidity and tinder-dry vegetation. But Coyne said that kind of situation, a very hot, windy day with low humidity, could be just another day in Princeton. "That's the Silmilkameen Valley for most of August." He expressed concerns for local businesses that might have to spend thousands of dollars to bring in generators to keep their refrigerators running. "That's not acceptable either." Fortis has postponed scheduled community open houses to early June as a result. "While the PSPS [public safety power shutoff] policy remains an integral part of our approach to wildfire safety, we recognize the importance of getting it right," Fortis said in a statement published online.
Global News
02-05-2025
- Business
- Global News
Fortis plan to reduce wildfire risk across Southern Interior raises other safety concerns
FortisBC will be implementing a new initiative for the 2025 wildfire season in an effort to reduce wildfire risk. But as the 'Public Safety Power Shutoff' initiative aims to decrease the chance of wildfires, it's raising other safety concerns. 'It sounds like a good idea, you know, I still have a few questions,' said Princeton mayor Spencer Coyne. Princeton is among 10 communities in the Southern Interior where the plan is being implemented for the 2025 wildfire season. They include Princeton, Midway, Greenwood, Beaverdell, Christian Valley, Westbridge, Rock Creek, Cawston, Keremeos, and Hedley. The communities were deemed 'high-risk' for wildfires by Fortis. The initiative will see Fortis cut off power in the mentioned communities, if warranted, during extreme weather events. Story continues below advertisement 'When you have very high winds, high heat, low humidity and tinder-dry vegetation, we will reach out to local emergency services and make a decision whether we need to turn off power,' said Gary Toft, senior adviser of corporate communications with Fortis. 2:36 L.A. wildfires: Winds, low humidity threaten to fuel fires ravaging county The power outage would prevent branches and trees from falling onto live power lines and igniting. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'We're asking folks to be prepared,' Toft said. 'So make sure you have a backup plan in case of a power outage … for lighting, for staying cool, for preparing food. Make sure you have an emergency kit.' While no one wants to see wildfire destruction, Fortis' plan is being met with concerns as residents could lose power for several days. A staff report presented to the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary (RDKB) board on Wednesday states, 'Emergency Management staff are concerned that the health and safety of residents are being put at risk.' Story continues below advertisement The report adds, 'Many locations identified as cooling centres for extreme heat events do not have backup power generation' The Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen (RDOS) echoed the sentiment, telling Global News, 'it shares many of the concerns.' 'We're talking to emergency services,' Toft said. 'We're in the process of implementing this so people, people have questions, people have concerns, we want to hear that feedback, because that's important and how we implement this.' Fortis will be holding two public information sessions including one in Greenwood (Greenwood Community Hall) on May 14 and the other in Keremeos (Victory Hall) on May 15. Both are scheduled fr0m 4 p.m. until 7 p.m. The company will also hold a virtual public open house on May 22 to provide more information. 'After speaking with them (Fortis), they put a lot of my, you know, uneasiness at rest,' Coyne said 'It's only going to be in certain circumstances, and it's not going to be like weekly, or anything like that. It's strictly to prevent something like California, or you know other places, from happening here.' For more information on the Public Safety Power Shutoff initiative or information on how to prepare for a power outage, you can go to the FortisBC website. Story continues below advertisement
CBC
11-04-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Support for fossil fuel workers needed alongside climate action, says Princeton mayor
Princeton Mayor Spencer Coyne has joined a growing group of Canadian mayors pushing for climate action. He told BC Today guest host Dan Burritt the 2021 floods emphasized the need to shift away from fossil fuels, but added that it's also crucial to support workers in those industries through any changes.
