Demand for electricity in Dawson City is growing. As the second-fastest-growing community in the Yukon, the addition of people, homes and community infrastructure are all contributing factors to an increasing demand for electricity. This, coupled with the switch from propane and diesel to electricity for heating and transportation, means we could see demand for electricity in Dawson double in the next five years. To provide Dawson with the electricity it needs now and in the future, we are upgrading our local electricity system.
Over the next five years, we’ll be working on various projects in Dawson to make sure the grid can handle this increase in electricity demand. These projects include upgrading Dawson’s distribution system and replacing end-of-life equipment at the Callison substation, referred to as the Callison Substation Upgrade Project.
The Callison Substation Upgrade Project consists of upgrading protection and control systems that have reached end-of-life at the substation in Callison. If these protection and control systems fail, it could result in prolonged outages over the winter. There are also other Yukon Energy projects, like moving end-of-life diesel generators from downtown to Callison, that are dependent on this work.
For Dawsonites, long-term benefits of the Callison Substation Upgrade Project include:
To safely complete the Callison Substation Upgrade Project, we needed to disconnect Dawson from the main grid. To supply electricity to Dawson during this time, we ran our diesel generators downtown over the summer and fall of 2023.