Divers Working to Melt Troublesome Ice

Divers will be using a steam truck this morning to melt some ice that is causing problems for our Whitehorse hydro operation.

Over the week-end, milder temperatures and strong winds caused some ice to break away from the shoreline on Schwatka Lake and accumulate near our Whitehorse dam and near the intake to our hydro generators. We had to shut down hydro units 1, 2, and 3, and #4 is also giving us trouble because of the ice.

If all goes well, we hope to have three of our four hydro generators back on line by tonight or tomorrow morning, with the fourth one to be in service shortly after that.

While the units are out of commission, we are using back-up diesel generators in Whitehorse, Dawson and Faro. We have enough diesel back-up to meet peak demand.

Here is a photo of the ice build-up near the dam: