Power restored in Kimmirut after 4-day outage
Qaqqalik School, GN offices to remain closed Monday to reduce load on power grid
Power was restored in Kimmirut on Sunday in the late afternoon. The had been without electricity since last Thursday. (File photo)
Power in Kimmirut has been restored.
Qulliq Energy Corp. made the announcement on social media Sunday around 3:45 p.m.
The hamlet spent four days in a community-wide electricity outage that started last Thursday with temperatures over the weekend reaching -5 C and lows dropping to -14 C, including the wind chill, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada.
The Nunavut government sent out more information later Sunday evening, informing residents that Qaqqalik School and territorial government offices would remained closed Monday. This will reduce the load on the power grid while crews continue to work.
“Given the need to bring all assets back into operation, there will still be a number of crews brought into the community to assist,” said Heather Grant, a policy analyst with the Department of Community and Government Services, in the release.
The territorial government declared a state of emergency on Saturday in the hamlet of 475 people.
Qaqqalik school was open as a warming shelter, which closed Sunday after dinner service, when power was restored.
Territorial government staff worked over the weekend to make sure the airport, health centre, school and water treatment plant — which all have generators — had enough fuel to stay powered.
The hamlet was put under a boil water advisory on Saturday. The Health Department said in its announcement that it will notify the community when that advisory is lifted.
The health centre was also put on reduced services as of Saturday because of the outage, which meant it only offered care for emergencies and urgent same-day appointments.
A news release from the Department of Health said service reductions or closures at the health centre were subject to change depending on the status of the outage.
QEC is making me nervous for this winter, almost every community in Nunavut is experiencing power failures and huge surges that fry our electronics.
Making me nervous for when it’s -40 and the power going out for a couple days.
Why is QEC so reactive instead of being productive? This has been going on for some time now and it does not appear to be improving but actually getting worse, very concerning.
It’s a huge concern. Our infrastructure is falling apart as they don’t have enough staff to maintain the assets. Forget that they don’t have the capacity to run a power corporation. Everyone should invest in back up generators as a catastrophe is waiting to happen. It will happen in -50 with a 5 day blizzard.
Building them houses without any upgrade to infrastructure, that’s why. And then those electric snowmobile being marketed to the north. I foresee more power outages in the very near future.
Then why did I uust get an email saying “GN offices in Kimmirut are closed today due to power outage”?
Key Question: Why did the territorial State of Emergency take so long to initiate? Apparently people were without power for 44 hours by the time the GN released a press release announcing a SOE. Qulliq, too, was not publicly communicating with the residents what residents needed to know. No safety plan implemented like what GN FINALLY released at the 44th hour into the power out….I.e. don’t used fuel-fired things like coman stoves inside enclosures (like houses). People, literally, were going without heat in their homes. In the same advisory issed by GN, they talk about implementing a Boil Water Advisory … gee, what about the previous two days that had passed … were they at real risk? Maybe GN’s Emergency Services should draft a list that communities need to follow when future power outs happen? It would seem such as in this community power out that such a list would be helpful to Senior Administrative Officer and Mayor and Council could use it as a guide. Where was QEC on this matter … facilitating assistance to the community’s Hamlet management so that residents health and well-being were uppermost? If there had been a power out in Iqaluit for a few hours with apparently no end in site, you’d bet there would have been an outcry. This is an opportunity for both QEC and the Government of NU’s Emergency Services to take stock … do a post mortem on what was not done in the interest of Kimmirutmuit and ensure that it does not happen again. The Minister of Community and Government Services (CGS) happens to be the MLA for Kimmirut; I am having difficulty understanding why he, apparently, didn’t have the ball rolling much earlier … that should be included into the post mortem discussion. Having had a relative staying in Kimmirut this past couple of weeks, I was hearing about the challenges she was facing throughout the power out.
The airport does not have emergency generators. A temporary generator was supplied by contractors
Many communities with generators that were supposed to be replaced years ago.
Please give me another reason to not own my home in Nunavut. Where is the money from my power bill going if a portion of it is for future replacements that are not happening?
Did I just read. somewhere
that the chairman of the board is running for president of NTI?