Freezing rain expected to cause widespread power outages in Metro Vancouver

Some areas of Metro Vancouver could see widespread power outages from freezing rain, according to BC Hydro.

The forecast from Environment Canada says heavy snow, ice pellets and freezing rain will impact the South Coast from Thursday evening through to Christmas Eve on Saturday.

Susie Rieder, a spokesperson for BC Hydro, said they’re expecting power outages.

“It’s the freezing rain that our meteorologists and teams are really tracking very carefully. That’s what will add weight to the snow on the trees and branches, making them heavy and potentially taking them down into our equipment and power lines,” Rieder said Thursday morning. “We do have all hands on deck because we are expecting widespread power outages, there’s very high potential for that.”

Customers are encouraged to have an emergency kit because it’s not known how long the outages could last for.

Rieder said the recent snowfalls are also creating access issues in some rural parts of the province where crews are having trouble fixing power lines.

“In some areas our crews can’t get up a road to fix a power line because there’s just so much snow,” she said. “So that kind of thing in some cases can make the estimated restoration time longer.”

Icy conditions on the roads can also be a factor in causing power outages if vehicles slide and crash into power poles.

“Fixing a power pole is like a mini construction project. It can take anywhere from two to eight hours, depending on the damage and what types of electrical equipment were attached to that pole,” Rieder said.