West Coast clocks are back on their usual 60-second-per-minute pace after a slow start last week.
Time literally slowed down across Tofino and Ucluelet on Oct. 18 and Oct 19 with residents noticing their clocks were running several minutes behind the actual time.
BC Hydro spokesperson Karla Louwers told the Westerly B次元官网网址 the sluggish clocks were due to repairs being done on the transmission line that connects the West Coast to the rest of hydroB次元官网网址檚 power grid.
To safely complete that work, the line was de-energized and Hydro switched the West Coast power supply over to its Ash Generating Station, a method known as B次元官网网址榠slanding.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淭he normal BC Hydro grid is very stable and operates at a frequency of 60 hertz. When an area is islanded, it operates with minor variations, it could be just under that 60 hertz or just over that 60 hertz,B次元官网网址� Louwers said.
She added switching to Ash does not damage electronics, but does cause clocks to run slower or faster depending on what side of 60 hertz the facilityB次元官网网址檚 power is running at.
B次元官网网址淲hen we island an area, customers can expect to see some minor inaccuracies in clocks that are plugged into electrical power outlets and, based on how that systemB次元官网网址檚 operating, they could either lose or gain, we would expect, about five minutes a day until that system is reconnected back to the larger grid,B次元官网网址� Louwers said. B次元官网网址淎lthough we do expect to see minor variation, itB次元官网网址檚 hard for us to predict what that variation will actually beB次元官网网址e donB次元官网网址檛 always know if itB次元官网网址檚 going to operate at a lower frequency or a higher frequency. Sometimes those minutes balance out at the end of the day where they could be quite unnoticeable, but not this time.B次元官网网址�
She noted incidents like last weekB次元官网网址檚 are rare as this is just since 2015.
B次元官网网址淎s I think most people on the West Coast might remember, it does happen periodically from time to time and itB次元官网网址檚 one of the ways that we can keep the power on, whether it be during an unplanned outage like a storm or by planning ahead to let us do some work,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淚 regret that BC Hydro didnB次元官网网址檛 inform the community prior to this work taking place so that they werenB次元官网网址檛 surprised by those changes in their clocksB次元官网网址eB次元官网网址檒l do our best to notify the community for future works in advance so that they can be aware.B次元官网网址�
She said the maintenance work was successful and the West Coast is back on the grid.
B次元官网网址淐ustomers will have to take the time to reset those clocks that are plugged into the wall and we appreciate them taking the time and their patience to do that,B次元官网网址� she said.
She explained that Ash is a 28 megawatt facility near Port Alberni that contributes roughly 6 per cent of Vancouver IslandB次元官网网址檚 hydroelectric generation.
B次元官网网址淚t is a terrific resource for us to have to be able to provide that backup for the West Coast communities when weB次元官网网址檙e completing work on the transmission system,B次元官网网址� she said.
andrew.bailey@westerlynews.ca
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