Post last updated Tuesday, Dec. 4 at 10:10 p.m. CT.
A power outage hit parts of Saskatchewan on Tuesday, becoming widespread by 9 a.m.
The power failure started when three of the province’s main power stations tripped off and lost generation.
All units at Boundary Dam, Poplar River and Shand, the province’s three power stations and entire coal fleet, went down.
SaskPower says it is working on getting some units back up and running.
“We are still in the assessment phase at this point, which means we are out in the field,” said Jordan Jackle, SaskPower spokesperson. “Hundreds of SaskPower employees are working to address this issue. We are in the sky and on the ground, looking at what kind of damage might have been caused to our equipment.”
In Regina, power was restored around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, however the southeast part of the province was still in the dark. By 10 p.m. SaskPower confirmed that all areas in southeastern Saskatchewan had power restored, including Oxbow and Carnduff.
SaskPower also says the ice and frost have caused power lines to sag and drop, which could be a contributing factor in the outages. Since conditions have not improved, the system is in a delicate position. Officials say high winds forecast overnight Tuesday could either help or hinder the situation by shaking the frost off the lines or causing further outages.
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Power outage closes Regina businesses, schools
The power outage affected thousands of people; many businesses were closed and people were sent home from work.
Many traffic lights in the city were out for the majority of the day.
The province is also reminding people to check on vulnerable residents, like seniors or people with disabilities who may live alone.
“We’re not exactly sure where all the people are that are affected,” said Assistant Deputy Minister of Government Relations Duane McKay. “If you have resources and neighbours, make sure you are looking after everybody.”
SaskPower has taken over 33,000 calls connected with the Tuesday morning outage — equal to all the calls they took in November.
All the schools in Regina with no power sent students home, while the University of Regina cancelled all day and night classes.
The City of Regina cancelled their ‘Light the Lights’ event, which will be re-scheduled.
Both the Regina General and Pasqua hospitals were not impacted by the power outages.
SaskPower was not able to provide a timeline for when power will be completely restored across the province.
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