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Power Outage Updates
Nov 07, 2012  Comment

Power Outage in Mendenhall

To our customers in Mendenhall: we want to apologize for the power outage you are currently experiencing. We have sent a crew to restore the electricity. Your power should be back on by about 10 a.m. this morning unless they encounter unforeseen problems.
Energy Conservation
Nov 09, 2012  Comment

Lowering Those Winter Power Bills - Part 1

With the cold and dark months upon us, it will come as no surprise to note that most Yukon homes use more energy in the winter. Energy bills can climb dramatically as heat is turned up and lights and electronics are on longer. If you live in an electrically heated house, space heating alone can account for 40 to 50 per cent of the annual electricity bills for a home built to City of Whitehorse standards, and much more if it is an older poorly insulated home. In rough numbers, an older electrically heated home with 2x4 walls can have a January electrical bill that is as much as seven times what a July electric bill might be. A 2x6 home could have a January electric bill about five times what the bill might be in July. A home built to City of Whitehorse energy standards would have a January electric bill about three times what the July electric bill might be. A super insulated (SuperGreen) home, on the other hand would have a January electric that is about two times the amount of a July electric bill. Today we're starting a series with some tips on how to winterize your home, and keep those power bills as low as possible. Home Energy Audit We encourage you to get an ecoEnergy evaluation done through the Yukon Housing Corporation. The evaluation costs $250, but is eligible for a $75 rebate from the Energy Solution Centre. The energy evaluation will give you a standardized evaluation of the house‘s energy use and will help identify where the air leaks are in the house so they can be corrected. As well, you'll receive advice from the energy evaluator about the most cost effective energy upgrades available to you. Insulation Even if your home doesn't have visible cracks or leaks, you can still be losing heat if you have inefficient insulation, particularly if you have an older home. If your home is at least 10 years old, your insulation may have sagged or settled over time, leaving gaps and seams. Consider upgrading your insulation to newer options that save energy. • Start in areas that lose the most heat, such as basements, crawl spaces and attics. A well sealed and well insulated attic can reduce year-round energy use by up to 15 percent. • Used appropriately, spray foam insulation can be used for air sealing and insulation. • Install insulation on the underside of the floor in an unheated or vented crawl space. Fiberglass batts or blankets are usually easiest. Install an air and moisture barrier on the ground before insulating. It is recommended that the bottom of the floor joists be covered in insulation, or in the foam insulation can be applied to the floor and walls of the crawl space, and the crawl space heated. • Upgrade your insulation when you're undergoing other renovations, such as replacing a roof or upgrading a basement. You'll save time and it's a low cost way to add energy efficiency to your project. Watch for more in this series in the days ahead.
Regulatory
Nov 12, 2012  Comment

Opening Statement

Today was Day 1 of the Yukon Utilities Board hearing into our 2012 general rate application. You can read the opening statements of Yukon Energy's president David Morrison here: http://yukonenergy.ca/downloads/db/1217_YEC%20opening%20statement-2012-Final.pdf We are having some technical difficulties resulting in you having to copy this address into your browser. We apologize and will have this problem fixed as soon as possible.
News, Energy Supply
Nov 13, 2012  Comment

Averting a Power Outage

 Thanks to two observant Yukon Energy staff, we were able to address a problem with what's known as frazil ice before it resulted in a week-end power outage.  Frazil ice forms on equipment such as the intakes to hydro units during times when it is below freezing yet before a stable ice cover has formed for the winter. It's been compared to rime icing, except frazil ice is always underwater. It forms very quickly, is often difficult to detect, and can cause major problems for operations involving water. For instance in 1914 the entire water supply for the city of St. Petersburg, Russia was cut off because of frazil ice. This past week-end frazil ice started building up around the intakes to three of our Whitehorse hydro units. When our staff discovered the problem, the ice had formed to the point where it was preventing water from entering the hydro units. Underwater divers were immediately called in and Yukon Energy employees worked with them throughout the week-end to melt the ice using very hot steam. The units are now back online and the frazil ice is gone. Photo caption: Sean Grant from Canpac Divers surfaces after a final inspection of the intakes for three of the Whitehorse hydro units.

Regulatory
Nov 15, 2012  Comment

Before Our Regulator

For the past three days, Yukon Energy officials have been before our regulator, the Yukon Utilities Board (YUB), to answer questions about why we are requesting a rate increase for 2012 and 2013. Truth be told, this quasi-judicial process can be pretty technical and the average person would not be faulted for not grasping 100 percent of the concepts discussed. However that doesn't mean these hearings are not worth attending. They are open to the public and they provide groups and individuals with an opportunity to ask a wide variety of questions related to our funding request (you do need to register as an intervenor to be able to ask questions at these hearings). These sessions allow you to have a better understanding of the direction in which Yukon Energy is heading, and why. The more you arm yourself with information, the better able you are to draw informed conclusions about whether Yukon Energy is addressing the territory's electricity needs in the best ways possible. Here's how the process works in Yukon. A utility (in this case it was Yukon Energy but Yukon Electrical Company Limited must follow the same process) files an application with the YUB asking for rate/regulation changes. The application includes evidence in support of the request(s) the utility is making. The Board then issues an order setting the dates for the hearing, and outlining significant milestones along the way, such as the date for filing information requests and responses. The Board will also outline how the public is to be notified about the hearing. It's usually a period of several months between the time the application is filed and the start of the actual hearing. In our case, we filed the application in April of this year, and the hearings didn't take place until this week. For less complicated matters the time period may be shorter, depending on the Board's schedule. In the time before the hearing, anyone who wants to be an intervenor must make their request to the YUB. Once the intervenor list is finalized, both the intervenors and the YUB can ask the utility for information in writing about certain aspects of the application. This time round, Yukon Energy received more than 1,000 requests for information, which we answered in the weeks leading up to the hearings. By the time the hearing date arrives, alot of relevent information is already 'in the record'. The hearing itself gives the YUB and intervenors a chance to further question Yukon Energy. During this week's hearing, the YUB and five interveners had questions for Yukon Energy representatives. The intervenors included the Yukon Electrical Company Limited, the City of Whitehorse, the Utilities Consumers' Group, the Yukon Conservation Society, and Leading Edge. With the hearings behind us, the YUB will now take all the information it has received and evidence it has heard, and issue an Order regarding our rate increase request. We likely will not see an Order from the Board until late winter or spring of next year. If this has peaked your interest and you want to read the transcripts of the proceedings, they are on the Yukon Utilities Board's website.
Energy Conservation
Nov 19, 2012  Comment

Lowering Those Winter Power Bills - Part 2

Earlier this month we began a series on how to keep your winter power bills as low as possible. Here is Part 2. Insulation Even if your home doesn't have visible cracks or leaks, you can still be losing heat if you have inefficient insulation, particularly if you have an older home. If your home is at least 10 years old, your insulation may have sagged or settled over time, leaving gaps and seams. Consider upgrading your insulation to newer options that save energy. Start in areas that lose the most heat, such as basements, crawlspaces and attics. A well sealed and well insulated attic can reduce year-round energy use by up to 15 percent. Used appropriately, spray foam insulation can be used for air sealing and insulation. Install insulation on the underside of the floor in an unheated or vented crawlspace. Fiberglass batts or blankets are usually easiest. Install an air and moisture barrier on the ground before insulating. Upgrade your insulation when you're undergoing other renovations, such as replacing a roof or upgrading a basement. You'll save time and it's a low cost way to add energy efficiency to your project. When upgrading and/or re-doing insulation, consider the function and placement of the vapour barrier. Yukon Housing and the Energy Solutions Centre can help you understand how a vapour barrier works and where it should be placed. Safety note: take great care when insulating and sealing around electrical devices, electrical junction and switch boxes, chimneys, hot water tanks, etc… Some insulating materials are flammable and some appliances require ventilation and exhaust to operate safely while others may require clearances. If in doubt, seek professional guidance.   Turn down your thermostat If it isn't an option to upgrade your insulation or you've made all the changes that you can, sometimes it just comes down to how you manage your thermostat. In fact this should be done regardless of other energy upgrades. Programmable thermostats give you the flexibility to be effective with your heat. By turning down the heat by just two degrees, it can reduce your home heating costs by five percent. Program your thermostat to set back the temperature by five degrees for eight hours every night and you can save approximately 10 percent on your heating bill. Program your thermostats to a temperature that is comfortable for you during periods when you are at home (for most people, that's around 20 or 21 degrees) and lower than that at night or when you are not home.  Get cozy: wearing sweaters, slippers and using a blanket may make it easier to adjust to lower temperatures instead of turning up the heat.  
Billing, Reliability, Safety
Nov 26, 2012  Comment

Be Kind to Your Meter Reader

With snow on the ground once again, we would ask that you ensure there is a clear path to your electric meter. Without access to your meter we can only estimate your power usage. We will typically estimate on the high side. We also ask that you secure your dog(s) away from meter areas and keep the area near your meter free of obstacles. If you see a Yukon Energy meter with cracked or broken glass, do not touch it and warn others to stay away. Please call (867) 993-5565 or 1-877-712-3375 to have it repaired or replaced. Taking these steps will enable us to read your electric meter accurately and safely. Many thanks.
Power Outage Updates, Reliability
Dec 03, 2012  1

A Message to People in Mendenhall

To the residents of Mendenhall, we want to apologize for the outage in Mendenhall over the week-end. We acknowledge that there are been far too many outages in your area recently and we recognize the level of service you have received lately is far from acceptable. As you know, the power is back on now and we have diesel on site. However it may be up to several days before we can put you back on the grid. In the meantime, we ask that you conserve energy whenever possible. The cause of these outages is a failed transformer off the main transmission line. This transformer will be replaced with a larger sized one to meet the existing and future load in Mendenhall. Once we have addressed the immediate issue at hand, we would like to arrange a community meeting to discuss our longer range plans for improving service to Mendenhall. We would also like to work with you to come up with a plan to ensure you are receiving up to date information during an outage. We will work with your local Community Association to find a meeting date that works for the most number of people.
Power Outage Updates, Reliability
Dec 04, 2012  Comment

An Update for Residents of Mendenhall

We wanted to provide people in Mendenhall with the latest information on what we are doing to address the power issues of late. We currently have three portable diesel generators that are providing power to Mendenhall. A fourth larger generator is being trucked up from Alberta and should be on site tomorrow. Also tomorrow, we will be installing a new transformer to replace the one that failed over the week-end, causing this outage. The work will take place around noon tomorrow, and in order to make the switchover, we must turn your power off for a short period (no more than 15 minutes and likely much less than that). We know the last thing you want is another outage, but we must do this to hook up the new piece of equipment. In the short term, power will be provided to Mendenhall via the grid with the new transformer, and with on-site diesels. We need both since the transformer that we currently have available is the same size as the old one and is not large enough to handling the growing power needs of Mendenhall. We will continue to use both diesel and grid power until we can locate a larger transformer. We are working hard to get one to you as soon as possible, but please know that this could take some time. We will keep the diesels in Mendenhall until we have the larger transformer installed. We will continue to provide you with updates on our blog, Twitter and Facebook, as well as via email, as new developments occur. Please share this information with your neighbours, especially those who may not have access to a computer. If you or someone you know would like to be added to an email list for updates, please have them send a note to: janet.patterson@yec.yk.ca or call 393-5333.
Power Outage Updates
Dec 09, 2012  Comment

Assistance from Yukon Energy During Phone/Internet Outage

As residents of Mendenhall are likely aware, a fibre optic bundle was cut this afternoon which took out land line telephone and internet service to the subdivision. We have been told that Northwestel is working on the problem, but in the meantime we will offer our assistance in the event of a fire alarm. If an alarm comes in, we will contact our operators in the field, and they will go to the Mendenhall Fire Hall and raise the alarm on the department's base station radio. The Ibex Valley firehall has also been alerted that they may be required to cover any calls originating from Mendenhall.
General
Dec 10, 2012  Comment

Cold Sunrise

  Sunrise over the Whitehorse dam on Saturday morning. The temperature was -37 degrees.
Power Outage Updates
Dec 10, 2012  Comment

Brief Outage

 Heavy snow on the line is the suspected cause of a brief power outage this morning in Dawson City. The power went out just after 6 a.m. and was restored to the downtown area 15 minutes later. Hunker Creek had power back on by 6:45.
News
Dec 11, 2012  1

A Thank You is in Order

 Yukon Energy would like to thank Yukon Fire Marshall Dennis Berry for the use of the Mendenhall fire hall over the last several days. The ability to have a place to warm up and get a hot cup of coffee has been truly appreciated by our crews working in the area during the cold weather. To the people of Mendenhall, we thank you for your continued patience as we work to upgrade service to your subdivision.
Energy Supply, Power Outage Updates
Dec 12, 2012  Comment

Planned Outages to Upgrade System

 It is necessary for us to schedule a couple of planned power outages this week in Mendenhall so we can continue to do upgrading of the subdivision's power system. Here is the schedule of outages: Thursday Dec. 13th 9 – 9:10 a.m. – outages for Mendenhall Road North (Harrison Road) 9:10 – 10:10 a.m. – Cranberry Lane to the main transmission line Friday Dec. 14th 10 – 10:30 a.m. – Store to highway and back to fire hall 10:30 – 4 p.m. – rest of Mendenhall Road North (Harrison Road) and Cranberry Lane to main transmission line Thanks very much.
Energy Supply, Power Outage Updates
Dec 11, 2012  Comment

Mendenhall Public Meeting

 Yukon Energy would like to invite Menhenhall residents to a public meeting to discuss power service to your subdivision. The meeting is set for this Sunday (Dec. 16th) at 2 p.m. at the Mendenhall Fire Hall. We hope to see you there. Please share this information with your neighbours. Thank you.

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