EDMONTON- Due to a power outage in east Edmonton Saturday morning, Alberta Health Services (AHS) has issued a precautionary air quality advisory for Edmonton and communities north and east of the city.
The outage caused a number of oil refineries in the ‘Refinery Row’ area of Strathcona County to begin flaring Saturday morning.
Scott Schreiner, a spokesperson with AltaLink, says the company’s substation had a “significant drop in voltage” around 8:20 a.m. However, he says the power did not completely go out.
AltaLink’s substation supplies much of the industrial load in the area, serving major refineries including those operated by Suncor and Imperial Oil.
AltaLink says power levels were restored around 10:30 a.m.
As a result of the loss of power, refineries in the area began flaring, which produces tall flames and causes dark smoke to come out of the stacks of the refineries. Flaring is a safety measure refineries take to burn excess hydrocarbons and release pressure in the plant.
A spokesperson with Suncor says the company immediately activated its response plan and safely shut down the refinery.
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“The visible smoke is due to emergency flaring caused by the power failure. We understand the resulting flaring and smoke can be concerning to (the) community but want to reassure them that this is a normal part of the process to safely shut down the refinery,” Nicole Fisher said in an emailed statement.
Imperial Oil says all of its refinery’s processing units are in a safe position.
“Neighbours can expect to see increase flaring and noise over the next 24 to 48 hours as all unit operations are returned to normal,” a company spokesperson said Saturday morning.
AHS says although current air quality conditions are not expected to cause health concerns in most healthy people, those with pre-existing respiratory conditions may notice a worsening of symptoms.
Those individuals are being asked to monitor their symptoms and contact Health Link Alberta at 1-866-408-5465 if their conditions worsen.
For the most recent information on the flaring situation, call the Strathcona County update line at 1-866-653-9959.
Watch: Global 1 captures video of refineries flaring Saturday morning
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