Lethbridge utility lines. (Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko

City wraps up investigation into Wednesday’s wind-based power outages

Jan 14, 2021 | 2:01 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – During wind storm Wednesday, many homes and businesses throughout Lethbridge were left without power for several hours.

At 9:07 and 9:09 am on January 13, Lethbridge Electric Utility experienced back-to-back transmission circuit outages. This removed both provincial grid connections at one out of its six supply substations in the city.

About 25 per cent of the city was impacted, primarily those in the downtown core.

There were also a few other outages caused by downed trees falling on power lines.

The city says it took a few hours for the restoration of the power lines to be completed as technical and public safety inspections encompassed the entire length of the city, approximately 40 km.

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In the end, it was determined that extreme wind gusts up to 125 km/hr were the cause of the main outage. It resulted in power lines slapping together, causing power flow swings.

READ MORE: Many Alberta communities set all-time records for wind speed Wednesday

Despite this, the investigation found that the equipment operated correctly.