Western Prince Edward Island faced another wave of power outages on February 10, 2025, marking the second consecutive Monday affected by significant service disruptions. This latest outage was particularly challenging, with Maritime Electric reporting at one point over 19,000 customers without electricity.
The cause of these power interruptions was identified as issues originating from the Sherbrooke substation, located north of Summerside. Maritime Electric, responsive to the situation, acknowledged the technical difficulties through its social media channels, informing residents of the restoration process being underway. "We may experience multiple outages again today until this issue has been fully rectified," the City of Summerside announced.
By 11:00 AM, power had been successfully restored to the majority of affected areas, aided by the City of Summerside's backup generators and support from Maritime Electric. Despite the recovery, residents had endured several hours without electricity, prompting swift action from local authorities. At the height of the situation, the Public Schools Branch made the decision to send students home early, dismissing classes beginning at 9:30 AM due to safety concerns and the lack of power at school facilities.
Several French-language schools, including École Pierre-Chiasson and École Évangéline, also closed for the day as the outages persisted. Health services were stalled too; Health P.E.I. canceled all in-person appointments at East Prince Primary Care facilities until 12 PM, with officials indicating affected patients would be contacted to reschedule.
This incident mirrored another outage the previous week, which led to similar disarray across regions like St. Eleanors, Wellington, and Alberton, indicating systemic challenges across the power supply infrastructures. Interestingly, on February 3, over 23,000 customers were left without power when Maritime Electric encountered issues. "That system with Maritime Electric malfunctioned and tripped off the flow of electricity," observed Greg Gaudet, director of municipal services for Summerside.
Gaudet elaborated on how the operational response involved Summerside Electric activating its diesel backup generators, which were able to supply up to 30% of the city’s energy needs during the crisis. Prompt measures ensured priority was first directed to services such as police and fire, highlighting the seriousness of the outages on public safety and service availability.
Officials have voiced concerns over winter demands on the electrical grid, noting they are witnessing usage levels approximately four times higher than usual, driven by the increasing reliance on electric systems as households transition away from fossil fuels. With this burgeoning demand, both Summerside Electric and Maritime Electric have faced challenges to meet the needs of consumers.
A report from Systems Engineering emerged discussing these growing needs, indicating the urgency for infrastructure improvements to accommodate the rising electric demands of the community. "Electrical utilities have to catch up to make sure we can supply it," said Gaudet, stressing the importance of ensuring reliability for future service.
Residents are left wondering if these outages will become routine, especially considering the repeated events occurring on back-to-back Mondays. With schools halted, medical appointments postponed, and general disruptions within the community, the local population is feeling the strain.
Efforts are underway to strengthen the infrastructure and reduce the likelihood of similar events, but the winter season and accompanying demands loom overhead. It becomes imperative for both Maritime Electric and local governance to address these issues swiftly, ensuring reliable power supply as they move forward.
With all power restored following this latest outage, residents are left reflecting on the responses from their local utilities and the measures taken to prevent future incidents. The coming weeks may be telling as to how quickly changes can be implemented and whether another outage will disrupt life on Prince Edward Island again.