Image credit: BC Hydro

By Marty Hastings

OUTAGE ON VOTING DAY

UPDATED: BC Hydro notes power restored in Kamloops areas; voting places were impacted by outage

Oct 19, 2024 | 10:17 AM

UPDATED: BC Hydro reached out to CFJC Today before noon on Saturday (Oct. 19) to note power has been restored.

ORIGINAL: KAMLOOPS — The power is out at several polling stations in Kamloops on Saturday (Oct. 19), which is 2024 provincial general election day.

Susan Edgell, a stakeholder engagement advisor in community relations for BC Hydro, said a motor vehicle accident appears to have taken place overnight Friday that took out a double-circuit pole just east of the Petro-Canada gas station in Dallas.

BC Hydro crews are at work and aiming to restore power by noon on Saturday, but it is possible the outage will continue until 1 p.m., Edgell said.

Six or seven polling stations appear to be without power.

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The outage is taking place in the Juniper Ridge, Valleyview, Dallas and Barnhartvale areas, according to a map on the BC Hydro website.

Elections BC has a direct line to BC Hydro operations staff and communication is taking place, according to BC Hydro.

BC Conservatives’ Kamloops-North Thompson candidate Ward Stamer said voters are being re-routed to the nearest open polling station.

“It’s kind of a pain because we’ve got stickers that go right onto the cards that show the closest polling station,” Stamer said. “Now, you’re trying to peel these stupid stickers off because we don’t know how long the power is going to be out. How helpful is that when we tell them to go up to RL Clemitson up in Barnhartvale and it’s still out of power? We certainly don’t want them to turn around and go home. It’s for everybody. It’s not just for us. It’s a big deal. We certainly don’t want to dissuade people from voting.

Edgell said BC Hydro apologizes for the inconvenience and is working diligently to rectify the problem.