Weather prompts record 1.4 million electricity outages for BC Hydro customers in 2024

Multiple homes are seen surrounded by debris left by flooding from torrential rain from an atmospheric river weather system at Deep Cove in North Vancouver on October 22, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns

VANCOUVER — Nearly 1.4 million BC Hydro customers lost their power last year due to weather-related events, setting an all-time record for the utility.

BC Hydro says in a statement that the unprecedented number of outages was primarily due to three powerful storms that hit the South Coast and Vancouver Island in November and December.

The statement says a survey conducted for BC Hydro shows that nearly three-quarters of B.C. residents experienced at least one weather-related outage last year.

The Crown utility says the fall and winter storms were among the five largest such events in the past decade and were made worse by recent drought that left trees susceptible to damage, and to falling on power lines and other infrastructure.

Hydro spokeswoman Susie Rieder says the utility has been preparing for the effects of climate change on its system, tripling its budget for vegetation management around transmission lines.

She says that despite the increased frequency of outages, BC Hydro’s response times are improving, with a track record of restoring power to 90 per cent of customers within 24 hours.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 31, 2025.

The Canadian Press