Hundreds without power across Lower Mainland as heat wave wreaks havoc

Richmond, B.C. -

Hundreds of BC Hydro customers across the Lower Mainland were without power Sunday as the record-breaking heat wave caused issues.

For a few hundred, the power went out as early as Saturday night. By Sunday afternoon, that number had steadily grown.

“We currently have about 700 customers without power across the Lower Mainland right now,” said BC Hydro spokesperson Mora Scott.

Scott says not all of the outages are heat-related, but it’s certainly been a factor.

"We do have some localized outages that are related to transformers failing because of the heat,” Scott said. “Of course, we can appreciate how concerning it is for those customers without power in these extreme temperatures."

With outages happening from West Vancouver all the way out to the Fraser Valley, few areas have been spared.

One Richmond neighbourhood near Albert Airey Park had more than 100 BC Hydro customers lose their power around 10 p.m. Saturday night.

"We can’t use the fridge or the microwave, so you're just sitting in the dark in the middle of a heat wave, it's kind of tough,” said resident Ravneet Bhatti.

"We’ve taken all of our food out,” added Diane Kornick. “It's hot. Our hallways are muggy because there’s no air ventilation going through. I'm worried about my neighbours. They're all elderly.”

BC Hydro crews arrived in the neighbourhood at around 11 a.m. to begin restoring power.

One of the crew members told CTV News that the cause was another blown transformer caused by the heat.

With the peak temperatures of the heatwave expected on Monday, Scott says BC Hydro will be ready to act.

“We do have a full complement of crews ready to respond should we see more issues,” she said.

On Monday, parts of the Fraser Valley are expected to see temperatures in the 40s C.