Crews are working around the clock to get the power back up and running to a section of Calgary’s downtown and officials say they remain hopeful it will be restored by 5:00 a.m. on Thursday.
“I am pleased to announce that things are going better than expected,” said Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi. “ENMAX now believes that they are in a position to re-energize the entire effected area tomorrow at 5 a.m.”
An underground explosion and fire beneath the street at 8 Avenue and 5 Street SW on Saturday night forced crews to cut the power to the area leaving thousands of Calgarians in the dark.
The fire heavily damaged about 3.5 kilometres of wire underground and the city and its partners have been working non-stop to remove the cables and replace the system.
ENMAX says crews have finished putting the new cables back into the grid and are now testing the connections.
ENMAX says crews have made great progress and that it expects to safely restore power by 5:00 a.m. on Thursday, October 16.
“This has been a major rebuild of this section of the system so we may encounter some unexpected issues as we bring the power back on. If that becomes the case, I can assure you that we will work to get the power back on as safely and quickly as possible to resolve any issue that we may have,” said Gianna Manes, President & CEO, ENMAX.
Residents will not be able to return to their homes the minute the switch is flipped as it will take a while to re-energize the system.
"You can't go back right away until the structure itself, the building itself, comes back online and is checked. Every building will be inspected for safety systems and ventilation in the parkade and will power up water systems'" said Nenshi.
Officials say returning residents should think about what they were doing when the power went out and turn off or unplug anything that was on, if it is safe to do so, before the power is turned back on.
Tom Sampson, Deputy Chief, Calgary Emergency Management Agency (CEMA) says a number of things will happen once power is restored and that property and building managers will check:
- Ventilation system
- Safety systems
- Water systems
- Elevators
- Heating systems
"They will be making sure and working with appropriate city personnel to make sure they are appropriately inspected," said Sampson.
An Information Centre at Mewata Armoury at 801 – 11 Street SW will be open on Wednesday from 11 a.m. – 9 p.m.
The city has provided information for residents and businesses affected by the power outage, click on the links below:
- Information for downtown residents affected by power outage
- Information for downtown building owners and managers affected by power outage
- Information for downtown businesses affected by power outage
- Information for downtown commuters
ENMAX has also set up a blog so citizens can see what crews have had to contend with over the last few days. Click HERE to see images of the damage and how the repairs are being handled.
For a map of community resources, click HERE or scroll the document below.
