Rankin Inlet losing power as generators quit in tiny Arctic community

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This article was published 25/02/2008 (6464 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

RANKIN INLET, Nunavut – A tiny Arctic town shivering in the icy winds of Hudson Bay for a week after three of four power plants shut down was hoping for relief Monday with the expected arrival of a new generator.

For two days last week, Rankin Inlet’s inhabitants endured -30 C. temperatures with power for only one hour in three.

“We didn’t open the doors or go outside,” said Angela Dale, who turned up the heat when the power was on so the warmth would last for the two hours it was off.

The problem began Feb.’ when one of two main diesel generators supplying power to Rankin Inlet’s 2,300 people mysteriously shut down. The other main unit went down Tuesday and one of the auxiliary generators went off line the day after that in a fire.

By Wednesday’s end, a town that normally has a peak demand of 2,700 kilowatts had less than half that on tap.

People were told not to use their ovens, dishwashers, TVs, computers or clothes dryers. Rotating blackouts were declared, despite the fact all the furnaces in town needed electricity to operate and the weather was bitterly cold and windy.

Although the schools have their own generators, classes were cancelled in case the buildings were needed for emergency shelters.

Some people, with no power for the block heaters in their vehicles, simply let them run all night. Kwedzo Forson ventured out every three hours to fire up the engine for a few minutes after the hour of power in the hope that would keep things warm enough to function until the next 60 minutes of juice.

“When they shut it off you would go outside and start the truck,” he said. “That’s what we did all night Thursday.”

Not that he was sleeping much anyway. Forson has sleep apnea and depends on a type of electric air pump to keep him breathing easily.

The local health centre, with its own power supply, remained open for urgent medical needs.

By Friday, Nunavut’s Crown-owned power utility Qulliq Energy Corp. had flown in one small generator from Yellowknife. A second one, found at a gravel-crushing camp outside town, was flown in, thawed out, fired up and plugged in.

One of the tow’s generators, meanwhile, was repaired.

“It’s continuous but limited power,” said Meghan McRae of Qulliq Energy. “It’s going to be a while before we have stable and secure power.”

School had reopened by Monday, although students were being given box lunches to reduce the noon-time power surge. Government offices were only open half-days.

Probably more disappointing was the cancellation of the weekend’s much-anticipated regional hockey tournament, even though teams from two participating communities were already in Rankin Inlet.

Town official Paul Waye was sitting in his office Monday – the windowblinds open and lights off as he toted up the damage.

About 70 homes, 10 per cent of Rankin’s houses, were frozen solid, he said.

“Some people forgot to turn on the taps.”

The new generator expected Monday from Edmonton was to be online by Wednesday.

Crews have been too busy trying to restore power to figure out why it went off in the first place. But that will change, said local member of the legislature Tagak Curley, who was in Rankin Inlet on Monday to survey the situation.

“We will be asking for a full review of what exactly happened,” he said.

Dale said the whole experience just amplified for her what life in the North is all about.

“You see the whole community comes together to make the best of it.”

And there were benefits. With the whole town dark, the view of last week’s lunar eclipse was unparalleled.

“We were able to get a really good view of the moon,” Dale said. “Probably every lunar eclipse now I’ll think of having no power and being in a state of emergency.”

-By Bob Weber in Edmonton