TERRACE, B.C. – A detailed analysis of BC Hydro’s recent outage data confirms that the electrical grid across the Skeena corridor is operating under conditions of acute stress, characterized by both widespread volatility and ongoing localized crises. The situation escalated today, Friday, December 12, 2025, with major failures reported in Kitimat, while the remote community of Stewart continues to struggle with chronic instability.
Kitimat Suffers Equipment Failures Today
The BC Hydro outage list for today confirms that major infrastructure supplying Kitimat failed this morning, resulting in multiple, sustained blackouts. These new outages, primarily attributed to Equipment failure, affected multiple parts of the community:
| Time Off (PST) | Area Affected | Customers Affected | Cause |
| 9:19 a.m. | West of FOREST AVE | 3023 | Equipment failure |
| 9:19 a.m. | West of HWY 37, North-East of ALCAN RD | 1217 | Equipment failure |
| 9:23 a.m. | South of DYKE RD | 1166 | Equipment failure |
| 9:19 a.m. | 100 block OCELOT RD | < 5 | Under investigation |
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These incidents, affecting a total of over 5,400 customers combined in Kitimat this morning, confirm significant system volatility just hours after major centers had been deemed stable earlier this week.
Stewart Battles New Outages and Chronic Instability
While the large power outage in Stewart that began December 8th was resolved on December 10th, the remote community is facing new and ongoing instability:
- Active Outage Today: A new outage began this morning, December 12, at 8:44 a.m. PST, affecting eight customers on Broad St and Volunteer St. The utility reported a crew was on their way with an Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA) of 1:30 p.m..
- Previous Failures: The community suffered severe outages between December 8th and 10th, with Tree down across our wires and Transmission circuit failure being the reported causes of failures that affected up to 360 customers.
Tree Contact and Equipment Failure Dominates Regional Issues
The data across the entire Northern region shows a pervasive issue with aging infrastructure and its vulnerability to environmental factors:
- Prince Rupert: Suffered multiple outages on December 11th, with causes including Bird contacting our wiresand Equipment failure.
- Terrace: Experienced several outages caused by Tree down across our wires in the preceding days, including an event on December 7th that affected 114 customers.
- Bella Coola: Experienced a multi-day outage starting December 8th due to a Tree down across our wires.
This systemic instability suggests that the combination of aging equipment and vulnerability to vegetation contact under cold, high-wind pre-storm conditions continues to destabilize the critical electrical infrastructure throughout the Skeena corridor.
Proactive Steps and Future Risk
The high frequency of these weather-related and equipment-failure outages raises concerns as the region enters a period of severe winter weather.
The utility is taking proactive steps to mitigate future risk, with a significant five-hour maintenance outage planned for December 16, 2025, for Pole replacement work in communities along the Highway 37 corridor, including Gitanyow, Kitwanga, and Stewart. This necessary infrastructure renewal validates the high priority assigned to asset replacement in the vulnerable Skeena service area.
Residents across the region are urged to remain prepared for potential outages and ensure they have adequate supplies as the intense winter weather arrives.
