Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - BC Hydro is replacing the switches on pole-mounted transformers set up beside private residences and buildings on Cortes Island.
They subcontracted this work to Allteck, an electric ransmission & distribution services company with a branch office in Nanaimo. A three-person crew arrived in Squirrel Cove on Tuesday, March 10. Two of them either use a bucket truck or climb the pole, while the third supports them from the ground. Once set up, the whole procedure typically takes about 15 minutes per transformer.
There are close to 900 houses and unknown number of other buildings on Cortes Island. Most are tied directly in to the grid. Only about 100 structures have lines coming to a pole set up beside them.
The crew will be staying at Gorge Harbour Marina over the coming days and hope to finish all the poles on Cortes by Saturday.
