VANCOUVER - BC Hydro says December's massive windstorm was the most damaging in its history and demonstrates improvements are needed in order to be ready for future outages.
A report from the Crown corporation says the Dec. 20 storm was unlike any previous weather event BC Hydro had encountered.
The report boosts the total number of customers who lost power to 750,000, an increase of 50,000, as winds topping 100 kilometres per hour came from multiple directions.
It says more than 400,000 customers on the Lower Mainland, and nearly 350,000 or about 80 per cent of all customers on Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands were in the dark, although everyone had their lights back on by Dec. 31.
In analyzing its response to the storm, Hydro says it is looking at ways it can provide more support to communities that experience outages for over 72 hours, including having a customer service representative available for face-to-face communication.
It also says it will work with cities and municipalities to better map out major intersections and primary traffic routes so restoring electricity to those areas is a priority, avoiding traffic congestion and related safety issues.
