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Community Involvement, Environment
May 07, 2014  Comment

Twenty-Minute Make-Over

The area around Yukon Energy's Whitehorse hydro facilities is looking spic and span, after a 20-minute clean-up this morning by 15 Yukon Energy employees. It was part of a Whitehorse initiative to clean up the city. Interesting finds included two dog dishes, a child's lunchbox, one sandal, compressed face powder, eye lash curler, an old and very broken hockey net, and a mysterious looking triangular marker.  Thanks to our staff, and to everyone in Whitehorse who took part in this city-wide clean up effort. Thank you as well to the municipality for putting on a great barbeque afterwards!
Energy Supply, Environment
May 13, 2014  Comment

Two Kites, One Balloon, and a Sound System

If you've travelled along Robert Service Way in Whitehorse lately, you may have noticed the colorful kites and a balloon in the wooded area near our hydro facilities. We have started a project to deter birds from nesting in the proposed LNG site (an area of 1.5 hectares). In Yukon, bird nesting occurs between May 1 and August 15. If the LNG project gets all its approvals, vegetation clearing of this site will take place within this nesting bird window. The Migratory Bird Convention Act prohibits the destruction of any active bird nests, so this project will prevent birds from coming into the site in the first place. There are two kites, one helium balloon and a sound system being used for this task. The two kites are hawk shaped and move and dart about in the wind like a predatory bird. The red, blue and white helium balloon also moves about in the wind and mimics a hawk. Its height above the trees will help stop birds from nesting in the area, since they do not like to have something above them. The on-site sound system sends out nesting bird distress calls and predatory bird sounds.   In spite of all our deterrents, it's possible there could still be nesting birds in the area. That's why, if the LNG project is approved and clearing goes ahead, qualified bird biologists will first conduct bird nesting surveys to local any active bird nests within the site. If there are, 10 meter ‘no-clearing’ buffers will be established until the birds vacate the nests.  

News, Community Involvement, Energy Conservation
May 22, 2014  Comment

Be Free Little Fish!

It seems kids never tire of releasing salmon fry into the wild! This year's annual Fry Release Day is set for Sunday, June 1st at the Wolf Creek campground, from noon to 3 p.m. It's a popular family event that has taken place for many years, thanks to the Yukon Fish and Game Association. Yukon Energy's contribution is to provide the fish. The afternoon gives members of the public a chance to release hundreds of fry that were raised in Yukon Energy's Whitehorse Rapids Fish Hatchery. The event helps Yukoners better understand the work we do at the hatchery and gain a greater appreciation of the territory's precious Chinook salmon resource. Once released, the young salmon will make their way to the Bering Sea, only to return five or six years later to the spot where they were first released.  Along with the fry release, there'll be hot dogs and cake served.  Hope to see you there!  
Energy Supply, Reliability, Safety
Jun 04, 2014  Comment

Earthquake Check

After this morning's earthquake, our crews have done a careful check of our hydro facilities in Whitehorse, Mayo and Aishihik. This includes our Whitehorse dam, our control structure near Marsh Lake, our dam and control structures at Mayo, and our dam and control structure at Aishihik. We are happy to report we found no damage. Examining our facilities after any earthquake is standard practice for us.
News, Power Outage Updates, Reliability
Jun 06, 2014  Comment

Planned Power Outages in Mendenhall and Champagne

A message to our Mendenhall and Champagne customers: there will be a series of brief power outages (15 minutes long each) on the following days: June 10, 2014 between 8:00 and 10:00 a.m. June 16, 2014 - between 8:00 and 10:00 a.m.  June 19, 2014 – between 4:00 and 6:00 p.m. June 20, 2014 – between 4:00 and 6:00 p.m. June 30, 2014 - between 2:00 and 4:00 p.m. July 1, 2014 – between 2:00 and 4:00 p.m. These outages are necessary so we can upgrade our system. We apologize for any inconvenience.
News, Energy Supply, Power Outage Updates, Reliability
Jun 16, 2014  Comment

Short Outage Today

Just before lunch today there was a brief outage in the Porter Creek area of Whitehorse and the Hunker Creek portion of Dawson City. Power has now been restored to everyone. The cause was an issue with one of our Whitehorse generators; our staff are currently working to repair the unit. We apologize to everyone who was affected.
News, Community Involvement
Jun 17, 2014  Comment

Thank You, Challenge!

Yukon Energy would like to thank the non-profit group Challenge for recognizing us with an Outstanding Community Support Award. Challenge does a commendable job helping Yukoners with disabilities become active in their community by learning job skills and finding meaningful work. Yukon Energy was recognized last night for our on-going support for the organization. We have partnered with Challenge on a number of projects, including producing some materials for our energy conservation department. We also contribute a small amount of sponsorship funding to the group each year. Seen below: Janet Patterson accepts the award on behalf of Yukon Energy.

News, Energy Supply, Environment
Jun 18, 2014  Comment

Another Season of Climate Change Work

For the fourth year in a row, Yukon Energy is working with the Northern Climate ExChange (NCE) of the Yukon Research Centre to gather new information about how climate change could affect hydro generation at the Whitehorse dam. Multi-year matching funds from Yukon Energy Corporation and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) is allowing NCE to continue its work of investigating the implications of climate change on hydro generation. Preliminary research began in 2011, when Yukon Energy provided the Northern Climate ExChange with funding to gather some initial ice data on the Upper Yukon River Basin, at the Llewellyn Glacier and Fantail River. A year later, researchers went back to the area to install two monitoring stations in the Fantail River Basin. Since then, the stations have recorded information such as air temperature, precipitation (both rain and snow) and solar radiation. They are tracking changes in the weather both in the medium and long term. The 2013 fieldwork involved installing two more meteorological stations on the Llewellyn Glacier. This year scientists plan to put the last of the monitoring stations at the headwaters of the Wheaton River, another tributary of the Yukon River. Yukon Energy and NSERC have each contributed $385,000 for three fiscal years of work (2013 – 2016). Technical and other support is being provided by the University of Alberta, the Juneau Icefield Research Program, Yukon Geological Survey and Environment Yukon’s Water Resources Branch. As well, Yukon College students are involved in many different aspects of this project, including field work and data interpretation. This research is critical to Yukon Energy in terms of helping us plan for climate change and the implications on our ability to generate hydro power. With the majority of the electricity we produce coming from the Whitehorse hydro facilities, we must be ready for any future changes in the watershed that feeds our Whitehorse system. By the end of this project in 2016, researchers expect to develop a model that will help Yukon Energy in our future resource planning. The model will also assist us in operating our Whitehorse hydro facilities in the most efficient way possible under various scenarios. Visit the Northern Climate ExChange website for more details on this initiative.

News
Jun 19, 2014  Comment

Summer Water Levels on the Southern Lakes

Levels in the Southern Lakes upstream from our Whitehorse Rapids hydro facility can vary greatly from year to year, depending on winter snowfall, summer rain, and summer temperatures (which affect the amount of glacial melt in the area). A hot, rainy summer, especially if it follows a winter with heavy snowfall, can mean potential flooding of properties in low-lying areas near Marsh and Tagish Lakes. Yukon Energy is often asked what we can do to help prevent flooding of people's properties in the high water level years. There is a misconception that if we would only let more water through our Whitehorse dam or our Lewes Lake gates, there wouldn't be a flooding problem. The truth is that under our water license, we must have all our gates open no later than May 15 of each year. That means that we hold no water back during the summer months, and we have no ability to increase the water flow from the Southern Lakes. However what we can do is share our information with local residents about what we expect summer water levels to be like each year. This will help people prepare their property for possible flooding in high water years. During the summer months (until the water levels peak and start to subside) we post regular charts on this blog that show current water levels. Here is the most recent chart for 2014, with actual water levels to June 16th. As you can see, it looks like this summer will be a year of average to below average water levels, meaning we don't expect to see any flooding.
News, Community Involvement
Jun 20, 2014  3

A Heartwarming Tale of Two Dogs and Two Yukon Energy Employees

We just have to share this story we received this morning from one of our staff: Last November I was returning from Dawson City in the early morning after completing a work project. As I approached Swallow Creek, between Stewart Crossing and Pelly Crossing, I saw two very sad faces in the blowing snow. I pulled over to check out what it was, and to my shock I discovered two little dogs. There were no tracks around them, so I believed they had been dumped there. The temperature was between -25 to -30 degrees C.   The blonde dog had no trouble with me picking it up. The little husky however, didn’t want anything to do with me. After 15 minutes of trying to catch the husky a south bound vehicle stopped to help. The female driver was able to pick up the husky in seconds.   With both dogs in the passenger seat of my truck I headed to Pelly where I stopped at the RCMP detachment and asked if anyone lived in the Swallow Creek area. The constable didn’t know of anyone. The constable informed me that Pelly Crossing was overrun with dogs so I decided to bring the animals back to Whitehorse.   Both dogs curled up on the arm rest of the truck for the rest of ride to the Whitehorse animal shelter and that's where I believed my good deed was over...until last night at our annual staff BBQ.   I had heard that one of our other employees (we'll call him Al) had adopted a dog from the shelter and last night he brought it to the BBQ. I looked at the dog and knew it was the husky I had rescued from the side of the road. In talking with Al and his wife it turns out they had adopted both dogs and the second dog now lives with Al's mother-in-law.   Al says when he adopted the animals, he was given no information about them other than that they came from the Pelly area. His dog is named Pepper, and is seen below on a family holiday. The blonde dog's name is Halo.    
General, News
Jun 23, 2014  Comment

Our Report to You

Our 2013 Annual Report is not available for viewing. You can find it here. 
Energy Supply, Reliability
Jun 24, 2014  Comment

A Chat With A System Control Operator

June is National Electricity Month, and to mark this event, the Canadian Electricity Association - of which Yukon Energy is a part - has prepared a blog series featuring various people working in the electricity business. It includes a two-part interview with Myles O'Brien, one of Yukon Energy's System Control Operators. Here is Part I.
Environment, Reliability, Safety
Jun 27, 2014  2

Watching For Nests

As some people in Dawson City are aware, we are doing some brushing along our transmission line right of ways. Brushing is necessary for reasons of safety and reliability of power service. One of the areas to be brushed is in the vicinity of Henderson Corner. We've had a few calls today from people who are concerned that if we brush right now, the nests of some warblers and other song birds will be destroyed. Please know that we have someone walking the line this afternoon looking very closely for birds' nests. If we find any, we will not do the brushing this week-end as planned but we will delay the work for a few weeks until the birds have left the nests. 
Energy Supply, Power Outage Updates, Reliability
Jun 26, 2014  Comment

Revised Schedule for Planned Power Outage

To our Mendenhall and Champagne customers: there will be a brief power outage (15 minutes) tomorrow (Friday, June 27th) between 1 and 3 p.m. This outage is necessary so we can complete some upgrades to our system. This outage was originally planned for Monday, June 30th, but crews finished early and so will be doing this final phase of work this Friday instead. We apologize for any inconvenience.
Energy Supply, Reliability
Jun 25, 2014  Comment

Chat With A System Control Operator - Part 2

This week we told you about a series that the Canadian Electricity Association is running about one of our System Control Operators, Myles O'Brien. We posted Part 1 yesterday; here is Part 2.

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