October power outages update

We understand that power outages can be frustrating. We have people working 24/7 across the territory to keep Yukoners safe and respond to any incident that may occur. This month, Yukon Energy experienced three power outages affecting Yukoners in different communities:

• Wednesday, October 30, 2024: The outage on October 30 that affected residents in Mayo, Dawson, Faro, and Drury Creek was caused by a fault in the transmission line between Carmacks and Faro. Our crew patrolled the line and found heavy snow build-up on wires. The system is now back to normal.
• Sunday, October 27, 2024: The outage on October 27 that affected Whitehorse residents in Porter Creek, Takhini, and Mountainview was caused by an equipment failure inside one of the three Aishihik hydro generating units. Our team is still investigating the details and planning for repairs.
• Tuesday, October 22, 2024: The outage on October 22 that affected Whitehorse residents in Porter Creek Mountainview, and Takhini North was due to an issue with the protection system in our Riverside Substation that we have since resolved.

The reality is that most of our electricity system was built 70 years ago. We have and continue to make investments in the system to make it more reliable and resilient. Recent examples of this include the ongoing voltage conversion project in Dawson, upgrades to our substations in Whitehorse and near Dawson, and the completion of the three-phase loop project in Dawson, which allows us to shift electrical load around to different sections of the city.

We’re always trying to reduce the chances of a power outage occurring, but sometimes there are factors out of our control that can lead to an unplanned outage. In the colder months when we experience unplanned outages, we have diesel and LNG generation to help us restore power more quickly.

Heading into the winter, our focus remains on providing reliable and affordable electricity to Yukoners. Right now, we’re finishing critical maintenance projects before it gets really cold and helping to reduce peak demand through our Peak Smart program. We appreciate your understanding as we work to strengthen our electricity system.