Power has been restored in Tuktoyaktuk after an outage that the hamlet’s mayor said lasted for some seven hours during extreme cold.
According to Mayor Vince Teddy, the power went out shortly after 2am and was restored between 9am and 9:30am, while temperatures were around -38C.
Teddy thanked NWT Power Corporation staff in Inuvik who travelled to Tuktoyaktuk to help local workers restore power.
Issues in the main generator seem to have caused the power outage and a circuit breaker had to be replaced, he said.
“This is a first,” he told Cabin Radio. “It was a learning experience for our local power person and also I guess the regional office at Inuvik power.
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“I am just relieved and thankful that the problem was resolved and found, and now it’s up to them to see that it doesn’t happen again.”
Teddy said about a dozen people went to a warming shelter set up at the school gym to get warm and grab coffee. He said many residents have wood stoves, and others went to the homes of friends or relatives to stay warm.
“That’s just the Inuvialuit way of life – helping each other in times of emergency,” he said.
“Grateful and thankful to my hamlet staff that the warming shelter was prepared to take people in … and also to the residents of the community of Tuk for their patience to live through the emergency, despite the cold weather.”
