8 - Wednesdays, Maret 7, 1990 - North Shore News B.C. Hydro relies on custemers’ help when restoring downed lines RECENT SNOW and windstorms on the North Shore left Chousands of homeowners from Deep Cove to Lions Bay without power and also flooded B.C. Hydro telephone lines with calls from angry callers demanding to know when their power wouid be restored. But what does it mean when high winds, a falien tree, branch, or a heavy snowfall knocks out a power line? By SURJ RATTAN News Reporter According to B.C. Hydro, the public plays a key role in determin- ing when power will be restored. Dennis Maniago, metro west area manager for B.C. Hydro, said there are ‘‘two types of custom- ers."* “The first type is the customer who asks when his power will be back on. The other type is the one who gives all the information he can about the situation, if there's a branch ona line or a tree has fall- en,*’ said Maniago. Gary Rodford, metro west area senior line supervisor for B.C. Hydro, said the Crown corpora- tion relies on as much information as possible from the public when a power line is knocked out. **They'll (customer) phone in and report that they’re out of power. Our service people ask a series of questions to draw out more information from them,” said Rodford. ‘The more infor- Mation we get, the easier it is ‘or us to assess the situation.”* He adds that once power is lost in an area, an alarm will go off in a Hydro control centre indicating that a power line is down. But Rodford says Hydro does not know at that point what the cause of the power outage is. “It could be a branch lying on a wire,’’ he said. ‘‘But the worst case is a tree that has fallen and taken a pole down with it, which will take some time to repair."’ “Once our crews determine what the damage is, we then determine how to get the majority of the people (power) on by isolating the area,’’ said Rodford. ‘‘At the same time we make an assessment on the manpower we require to repair the damage.” Rodford adds that the time power will be restored depends on what is needed to make a line safe again and what material is needed. In some cases an entire pole will have to be replaced. “We do the very least possible to get the service back in opera- tion,’’ adds Maniago. ‘‘It's fair to say that in a worst-case senario, it will be four to six hours at the minimum (before power is restored), if you can get access.”’ In terms of the North Shore, Maniago said weather is the major factor in power lines being snap- (12 outlets to serve you) 20-50% OFF All work guaranteed. Expertly done in any colour in your own home Specialists in bathtubs, sinks, ties and major appliance reglazing Mr. Bathtub Fixer i NEWS photo Paul McGrath A B.C. Hydro worker climbs up a hydro pole at the corner of 23rd Street and Chesterfield in North Vancouver during a recent snow storm to repair a damaged line. Hydro workers were out in full farce on the North Shore last month responding to numerous power outages. The Crown corporation says the public can play a vital role in assisting B.C. Hydro to restore power in times of outages. ped. And snow was the main prob- lem faced by Hydro crews on the North Shore during snowstorms in February. “It (snow) was causing trees and branches to break from as far as 15 to 20 feet away (from power lines),’"" Maniago said. ‘It made our getting to the individual sites almost impossible."’ At the height of the snow storm, Hydro had 40 of its personnel plus several contracted-out crews work- ing to restore power to the North Shore. Rodford said the British Properties was one of the hardest hit areas. “We had to work with the municipality just to get our trucks up there. Our crews had to follow a snow plow all the way to the top. Cars were just left all over the place,”’ said Rodford. “One crew had to push four or five vehicles out of the way.’’ But while the British Properties and the Deep Cove area received the brunt of the power outages on the North Shore, Rodford said there is no single trouble spot on the North Shore when a storm hits. REGLAZED Free Estimates 689-4706 | GROUSE PS, ADULT ALL DAY === SKI PASSES > only a 599 save °8°! Available from * Chevron Service Station, Capilano Rd. North Vancouver Three Way Self Service Chevron. 660 W 3rd. North Vancouver (NO Restricts nO Gas QUEM DeECesuity ot BEST DEAL IN TOWN! “It seems to depend on where the winds come from. We've had times when Bowen Island was dev- astated. This time Bowen Island was virtually left untouched.”’ Maniago said the public should immedia‘ely phone B.C. Hydro when their power goes out and while the power is out they should listen to transistor radios, because Hydro tries to get as much infor- mation out as possible with the cooperation of local radio stations. Other things people should do while waiting for power to be restored is to keep their freezers closed to preserve food and to turn off all light switches and electrical apphances. “But under po circumstances, if they see wires down, should they go near them.” Maniago said. ‘They should call their police and fire departments and then we can deal directly with those people." He added that twice a year Hydro crews wim trees in an at- tempt to prevent future power Outages. Bezause most of the trees are on private property, Maniago said it is one area in which Hydro is reliant on public cooperation. “We tell them that this (tree) is going to be a problem, but it's a difficult, process to convince them of that. We need the cooperation of the people who live there,"’ said Maniago. *‘The main reason for cutting down a tree is for safety and to avoid these long outages. By trimming trees we will minimize the problem.”' While he said he does not know what the future holds, Maniago warned that property owners whose trees or F.anches knock out power lines may be held liable for the accident in coming years. Rodford said Hydro works as fast as possible to restore power, but adds that not everyone is un- derstanding when they lose their power. “People don’t understand why their power isn't back on. If they’ve been without power for some time, and they're cold, peo- ple are hard to console. We try to get the large pockets on first because that affects the majority of the people,’'said Rodford. Maniago also dismisses the idea of installing underground power lines, as opposed to the overhead lines, saying cost is a big factor. As an example, he said it would cost about $70,000 to install un- derground power lines in one commercial city biock, and about $30,000 for one residential block. But he added that those totals only covered the costs to B.C. Hydro. Costs incurred by the B.C. Telephone Co., along with excava- tion work, could double those amounts. Maniago said it would also mean fonger power outages for the public: The average time to repair an overhead power line is one- and-a-half hours, the time to repair an underground power line would be 10 to 12 hours. e.you yes the choice, of professional DAY IN COURT THE FOLLOWING people ap- peared in North and West Van- couver provincial courts recently to face various charges laid against them. Before Judge 8.E. Bastin in North Vancouver provincial ceurt on March 1: Matthew Steven Green received a conditional discharge and was put on probation for three months after the 20-year-old North Van- couver man pleaded guilty to possession of cannabis in connec- tion with a Dec. 20, 1989 drug seizure. Before Judge B.E. Bastin in North Vancouver provincial court on Feb. 28: Douglas Stuart Kane was fined $300 after the 42-year-old North Vancouver man was found guilty of mischief under $1,000 in con- nection with an April 9, 1988 inci- dent where a car owned by North Shore Taxi was damaged. the Morgan Glyn Thomas was fined $450 after the 24-year-old North Vancouver man pleaded guilty to assault of a woman in connection with a Dec. 26, 1989 incident. eke Beth Rose Treadway received a conditional discharge and was put on probation for one year after the 25-year-old North Vancouver woman pleaded guilty to theft under $1,000 in connection with a Jan. 4 incident at Sears. Before Judge J.L. McCarthy in North Vancouver provincial court on Feb. 27: Peter Binning Reed received a suspended sentence and was put on probation for 18 months after the 42-year-old North Vancouver man was found guilty of assaulting a man in connection with a Nov. 1, 1989 incident. As a condition of his probation, Reed was ordered to complete 25 hours of community work service. Before Judge J.K. Shaw in West Vancouver provincial court on Feb. 20: Wayne Michael Marklund received a suspended sentence and was put on probation for two years after the 29-year-old North Van- couver man was found guilty of assaulting a man in connection with a Sept. 2, 1989 incident. As a condition of probation, Marklund was ordered to abstain from the consumption of alcohol. Capilano Mall 35-935 Marine Drive, North Van. 980-9213 Chinatown 23 E. Pender St., Vancouver 683-7268