Watch above: New buildings are going up but in some cases, people in south Edmonton can’t move in. As Fletcher Kent reports, the existing electrical system can’t handle the growth.
EDMONTON — Edmonton is experiencing a unique issue as a result of its rapid growth.
EPCOR is telling a number of developers the system can’t handle new loads on some circuits.
“Never heard of it before. It’s totally another obstacle that we’re having to endure with, and we’re not sure when it’s going to be energized, how we’re going to overcome it. It’s a problem,” says Dustin Graves, Carrington Construction Project Manager.
“The growth is so unprecedented. We only have scarce resources and we’re doing the best we can,” explains Tim le Riche, EPCOR Communications Director.
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A project in south Edmonton was complete in August, but nobody has moved in because there is no power.
Graves is dealing with a similar issue as the project manager of two Windermere condo developments nearing completion but also without power.
He was told through an email by EPCOR that the system also needs upgrading.
But it’s left Graves uncertain of what will happen next.
“We’re substantially under powered here and EPCOR can’t give us a date just when they can energize,”
EPCOR says it energized 5,800 new properties in 2013, and is on pace to energize 10,000 in 2014.
“It’s hard to keep up. There’s no doubt about it, and I can understand that there are developers and home owners that are frustrated because they have to wait a little bit longer to get their connections,” says le Riche.
But developers say it’s difficult to be patient when you’re losing hundreds of thousands of dollars a month from a finished property that has no one moving in, as one developer told Global News.
“If we end up having to stop jobs because there’s just no power, there’s a trickle effect on many people’s incomes as well,” says Graves.
With files from Fletcher Kent
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