Power outages can happen for a variety of reasons, such as bad weather, motor vehicle accidents and even animals interfering with the equipment. Weather-related outages, including wind, snow and trees falling on lines, are the most common sources of unplanned power outages in the Kootenays. Depending on the cause, some can be restored very quickly, while others can last a few hours or even a few days in the event of a major storm or emergency.

Reporting Outages

To report a power outage or get the current outage status please call 1- 877-324-9376. This line is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

How Power is Restored

Many individuals are working behind the scenes to restore your power, especially in a storm or emergency. If your lights go out, this is what happens to get your power back.

1. Dispatchers gather outage information
2. Nelson Hydro crews are dispatched to investigate, locate the cause and assess the damage
3. Public communications are updated
4. Problem area is electrically isolated to ensure safe working conditions
5. Electrical line contractors, tree trimming and highway flagging crews are contacted as required
6. Repairs are completed on a priority basis considering critical services and the number of customers
7. Power is restored
8. Public communications are updated

Sometimes customers wonder why our crews drive by their homes without restoring their power. It’s not that we don’t care, we are just restoring electricity in a specific sequence to ensure the stability of the electric system. 

This restoration sequence starts at our own Power Plant at the Bonnington Falls Generating Station to ensure the main source of electric supply is restored. Then we do patrols to locate the other source(s) of the outage. If the outage affects the hospital and downtown areas, we restore them first so people have access to critical services. After that, we work outward from the closest substation to the source of the outage to all downstream customer areas affected by the power outage, prioritizing the restoration of main lines first and then the lines that feed electricity to the largest numbers of customers next until all customer connections are functioning.

Scheduled Outages Streetlights Tree Trimming Pest Management