A severe storm could leave Cambridge’s power grid vulnerable to lengthy outages, according to a new report.
The report, released Tuesday by Ontario’s Independent Electricity System Operator, says the demand for electricity is growing across the province.
In Cambridge specifically, the report says power demand could overtake what the city’s current power grid can handle within a couple of years.
“It’s expected that within two to three years, we’ll be pretty close to our maximum capacity as far as transmission of electricity into our region goes,” Cambridge and North Dumfries Hydro president Ian Miles tells CTV News.
Also noted was the city’s “very limited” ability to restore power after a significant outage.
When a major ice storm hit the area this spring, power was restored to all customers within two to three hours, but the IESO says longer delays are likely without improvements to the power grid.
Miles says power authorities have been “very aware” of this problem for several years and are in the process of making the necessary changes.
“This report is identifying an issue that the planners have been aware of for quite a few years now,” he says.
“It’s well in hand and the planning has been underway for quite some time.”
Electricity is currently fed to Cambridge through one transmission line, coming in from the south.
Current upgrades planned by Hydro One will see a second line added to the grid.
The IESO report also highlights Guelph’s power grid as operating close to capacity, but upgrades planned for 2016 in the Inverhaugh area are expected to alleviate any issues there.
