ATCO Electric looking for cause of weekend power outages in Whitehorse

ATCO Electric said on Sunday that crews were still looking for the root cause of a series of power outages across Whitehorse over the weekend.  

Brief outages occurred on Friday and Saturday and continued on Sunday. They affected parts of downtown Whitehorse, Riverdale, Takhini, Granger, McIntyre, Copper Ridge, Logan and Ingram.

As of Sunday afternoon, power had been restored to all areas. 

ATCO did not return a request for comment, but acknowledged the incidents on social media. 

"We are aware of an outage impacting downtown Whitehorse and parts of Riverdale," the company said in a statement on Sunday morning.

"Currently crews are responding. We are working with Yukon Energy to investigate a cause. Thanks for your patience." 

The company said a short outage was required in Copper Ridge, Logan and Ingram to allow for emergency powerline maintenance.  

On Friday, outages affected areas in downtown Whitehorse, the Alaska Highway and the North Klondike Highway.

The recurring power outages had some residents frustrated. 

"I feel like ATCO customers are paying way too high of bills for the power to be going out as many times as it does," said Ashlet Volpatti, who lives in Whitehorse's Lobird neighbourhood. 

But Dave Paquet, who lives downtown, said losing power is just part and parcel of living in the North. 

"I've lived in other towns and cities that have just as many power outages," he said. "Considering where we are geographically, I'm pretty impressed with how well they operate." 

While the outages in recent days were unplanned, a planned outage is also coming to parts of downtown Whitehorse on Friday, between 9 am to 1 pm. It will affect the area between Strickland and Alexander Streets, and Sixth and Eighth Avenues. 

"This outage is required to accommodate infrastructure upgrades on the electrical system," company spokesperson Amy Miller wrote in a news release on Friday.