A BC Hydro plan to cut power to a 21-unit White Rock building tomorrow (Friday) in order to connect electricity for the new Cressey complex is receiving a chilly response.
“Everybody’s a bit concerned about it,” said Lillian Zubor, who lives in a second-storey unit of the affected building, located in the 1400-block of Vidal Street.
Noting many of her neighbours are seniors, Zubor said she appealed for the work – initially scheduled for 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Jan. 6 – to either be put off till the weather warms up or be done in two phases; to no avail beyond a one-week reprieve.
“This is in the middle of the winter, and they’re promising more frost and snow,” she said. “What happened to respect and taking care of the elders? For anybody to just say, we’re shutting off your power all day…”
Adding to the frustration was a notice posted by Cressey advising residents that street parking would be restricted during the work.
BC Hydro spokesperson Mora Scott said Wednesday that the outage is required as the work to be undertaken can’t be safely done with the connection energized.
Customers are given “as much notice as we can” so that they can make arrangements, she said.
Later Wednesday, Scott advised that the window for the work had been reduced to six hours from 10 but she could not confirm if Zubor’s appeal influenced the move.
“They were able to do some work today,” she said. “There still will be an outage Friday, but it’s been reduced.”
It’s also possible the full six hours will not be needed, she added.
While Zubor – who was outspoken in 2013 when the 12-storey Cressey development was first proposed – said the change was “good news,” she remained concerned that such inconvenience can simply be imposed on residents.
“I still think… Hydro needs to be taken down a pick, when they can do stuff like that and get away with it,” she said.
Hydro officials, she noted, neither apologized for the inconvenience or asked how they could help residents manage.
Scott said such work is “absolutely” only undertaken when required. She said anyone with concerns or questions about the service can call 1-800-BCHYDRO (224-9376).