Increased air conditioning use likely to blame for hydro outage in Ottawa's west end, utility says
Residents turning up the air conditioners on the hottest June 1 in Ottawa history likely caused hydro systems to overload, knocking out power to customers in the west end, Hydro Ottawa says.
Thousands of residents and businesses spent several hours in the dark and without air conditioning as the temperature hit 35 C Thursday evening.
Hydro Ottawa reported 8,500 customers in Kanata South, Kanata North, Stittsville and West Carleton-March lost power just before 6 p.m. Thursday.
Hydro was fully restored to all customers overnight.
The utility says the outage was due to some stations in the area becoming overloaded.
"We can speculate at the moment due to increased AC use yesterday," Hydro Ottawa said on Twitter Friday morning.
Hydro Ottawa said Thursday night that the outage was "likely due to the heat and AC being on."
In a statement to CTV News Ottawa on Friday, Hydro Ottawa says strain on the system can cause power outages.
"While Hydro Ottawa’s distribution system is built with sufficient capacity to accommodate summer peak loads, sometimes strain on the system can happen as a result of a sudden increased demand, resulting in outages," the utility said. "While this weather makes our system work harder, we are not experiencing any problems related to the peak demand."
The temperature hit 35.1 C in Ottawa on Thursday, the warmest temperature recorded in Ottawa on June 1.
A heat warning remains in effect for the city of Ottawa, with relief from the warm temperatures not expected until the weekend.
Hydro Ottawa offers the following tips to reduce demand on the system:
- Setting air conditioners to 26 C or higher, or use fans as an alternative
- Turning off unnecessary lights and appliances
- Closing curtains and blinds to keep out the sun and retain cooler air inside
- Delaying the use of dishwashers, washers, dryers and pool pumps until after 8:00 p.m.
With files from CTV News Ottawa's Natalie van Rooy
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.