Early Tuesday morning some Yukoners may have noticed the power go out, again.
It wasn’t a squirrel or wayward seagull this time.
It was a malfunctioning sensor on a turbine.
Speed sensors make sure that the turbines aren’t spinning too fast.
At 3:45 a.m. on Tuesday a faulty speed sensor signalled that a turbine at the Aishihik hydro generator was spinning out of control.
It wasn’t.
But because the malfunctioning sensor thought it was, it shut down the turbine automatically, said Yukon Energy spokesperson Janet Patterson.
The sensor is currently being repaired.
The three other hydro units were unaffected by the malfunction.
With the rest of the generators working well, Yukon Energy has more than enough power to meet all its customers’ needs, said Patterson.
“We don’t expect to have to use any diesel to supply the demand for electricity,” she said.
The power outage affected customers on the Mayo-Dawson line, some areas of Whitehorse, and several communities south of Whitehorse, including Carcross, Teslin, Tagish and Marsh Lake.
The power was out for almost two hours.
It was completely restored shortly after 5 a.m.
Contact Josh Kerr at
joshk@yukon-news.com