News & Events

Check this section for Yukon Energy's latest news and coming events.

If you have questions about any of the information posted here, please contact:

Communications and Community Relations
Phone: (867) 393-5398
Email: communications@yec.yk.ca

News, Power Outage Updates

Apr 15, 2014 Comment

Update on This Morning’s Power Outage

As was noted earlier today on this blog, there was a power outage early this morning that resulted in most communities on the Yukon grid losing their electricity source. The outage occurred at 3 a.m. and most communities had their power restored by about 5 a.m. Our crews have now determined that the outage was caused when a component of our Whitehorse hydro #4 unit failed. The component (official name is Programmable Logic Controller) is essentially a sophisticated computer and the main brain of the hydro unit. Its failure caused damage to other essential components. Staff are working to systematically identify all issues with the damaged equipment. It could be several days before hydro unit #4 is back in service. In the meantime, we have sufficient hydro power from our other available units in Whitehorse, Mayo and Aishihik.

News, Reliability

Apr 22, 2014 Comment

Update on our Takhini Substation Upgrade

After a winter break, work has started once again on the upgrade to our Takhini substation on the Mayo Road near Whitehorse. The upgrade is necessary so we can supply power to the soon to be built Whistle Bend subdivision. At the same time we are making improvements to our system that will limit outages to smaller geographic areas and allow us to restore power more quickly during an outage. The project will be completed later this year. At a cost of $12-million spread over two years, it is one of our largest capital projects underway right now. Photos: www.archbould.com Note the 'cowboy hat' in this photo. It is actually a certified hard hat!

News, Reliability, Safety

Apr 22, 2014 Comment

Maintaining Public Safety at our Mayo Lake Control Structure

Several days ago, we told you that we were doing some major refurbishment of our control structure at Mayo Lake. For public safety reasons, we have decided to close off the road into the structure until early June. This closure will affect access to the near-by boat launch. Since there won't be open water until at least the end of May and most likely into June, we hope this won't be an inconvenience to anyone. If you have questions or concerns, please email us at communications@yukonenergy.ca.

News, Energy Supply, Reliability

Apr 25, 2014 1

What Big Valves You Have!

Today, crews are finishing up the work of re-installing two valves at the Canyon valve structure by Otter Falls at our Aishihik hydro facilities. The valves control the flow of water at Otter Falls. They were removed from service last fall and sent to Campbell River B.C. for re-conditioning. We had to wait until the ice in the area started to melt before re-installing them. The valves are more than 150 centimeters (60 inches) in diameter and weigh 3,855 kilograms (8,500 lbs) each! We had to use a 90 ton crane to move them into place. We also needed to hire divers to reattach the underwater bolts. It takes about four hours to install and tighten the bolts for each valve. This is just one of a number of projects Yukon Energy has underway this year to ensure reliability of service to our customers. Below, photos of one of the valves being re-installed.

Environment, Reliability

Apr 28, 2014 Comment

Update on Herbicide Testing

Today's question: Last year Yukon Energy was contemplating the application of a suite of herbicides to keep the right of ways under the power lines clear. Are you still contemplating this? Thanks for the question. Yukon Energy has not yet made any decisions about whether to use herbicides in combination with other methods to keep our right of ways clear. We need to examine the results from last year's test plots, plus we want to do more research into other potential methods as well, such as the possibility of using goats. Once we have something more definitive to tell you we will certainly post it here on this blog.

News, Energy Supply

May 05, 2014 Comment

Is Electrical Thermal Storage an Option for Yukon?

Ever heard of Electrical Thermal Storage? It's a renewable option being used in other parts of North America and that is being tried in Yukon too. The Yukon Conservation Society, with financial support from Yukon Energy, is hosting a two day workshop on this technology. May 13 and 14 from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. each day. Gold Rush Inn, Whitehorse. To register and for more information call the Conservation Society at 668-5678. You can also learn more by going to the Conservation Society's webpage.

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

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, 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, 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.

More