Manitoba Hydro asks Westwood residents to reduce power amid upgrades

Manitoba Hydro is asking Winnipeg's Westwood neighbourhood residents to reduce power usage due to infrastructure upgrades.

Manitoba Hydro is asking roughly 1,400 customers in Winnipeg’s Westwood neighbourhood to cut their electricity use over the coming days, as infrastructure upgrades at a local substation collide with warm weather pushing demand higher.

The request affects residents in the area bounded by Westwood Drive and Bedson Street, between Portage Avenue and the Assiniboine River, and is in effect from May 29 through June 2.

The provincial Crown corporation is asking customers to delay running high-draw appliances — including dishwashers, washing machines, dryers and electric vehicle chargers — until after 10 p.m. each day.

Residents are also being asked to raise their air conditioner thermostats slightly, with Manitoba Hydro recommending a setting of 24 C.

The strain stems from capacity and reliability upgrades underway at the Cavalier substation, work that Manitoba Hydro said began last fall. Those upgrades have temporarily limited the utility’s ability to draw on power from neighbouring substations to supplement supply to the area.

Manitoba Hydro cautioned in a news release that without reduced load, the area could face a “sudden outage that could be lengthy and hard to restore.”

Once complete, the Cavalier substation upgrades are expected to improve reliability and service for the neighbourhood. The utility apologized for any inconvenience.