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ori ce Review —

STEWART = _ _ Mayor. ‘Dariené
.Cormell called it a “power
party’. She said it could have

been called a ‘turn it on’’ party,
but there ‘may have been mis-

" understandings.

The occasion me an. : official
ceremony , Dec, 1. in. Stewart
marking the sion of Stewart

. in B.C. Hydro’s provincial elec-. °
-. tric grid, something the ‘town
_ 2 and ‘local governments: through-
"out ‘the Northwest have been
working “towards for” several |

years. It means a stroiger,. more
reliable source of power for the

~ pooming’ community. than: the ~ oe:
15 a tree fell on the line; on Nov. .

diesel generators it has relied
upon in the past. Cornell also
pointed out. that the limited

amount of electric power”

-available had acted as a brake on
industrial growth. | ae

Since the’ mid:1930°s ‘Stewart,
. thas had orily 4.5: megawatts of

‘maximum’ electricity, but that
situation has now changed. Last

_ year B.C, Hydro agreed to build -
anew 138-kilovolt. transmission

line from its. substation»

Aiyansh —.at that time the end
of the line for the grid — 173
kilometers up the Nass Valley
and along Highway 37 and 37A

to Stewart. Clearing began in.
“J July 1988 and construction start- .

ed in: May of this year. A B.C.
Hydro rep pointed out that the
project came in on time and

- $500,000 under budget at $19.1
- million.

The deciding factor from
Hydro’ s point of view was the
additional demand from the
Westmin gold mine a few kilom-

Up to 0 $150 | in 1 grants available

Wednesday, December 6; 1989

- again; and on Nov. 29 the line §|
‘was knocked out by falling. [

wot la

eters north’ of Stewart.” ‘Mine: _

manager Denis Gregoire said the
availability of inexpensive elec-.
tricity has made a significant dif-

ference: in the mine’s. balance. |
sheet: using” ‘diesel ‘generators, :

the: operation | ‘sometimes. con-'

sumed : two. B-train fuel truck.

loads of diesel’ per day. .
The- initial power ‘connection

said the'start-up-was smooth but
not entirely without difficulties.
On Nov: 7 a lightning arrestor in
the circuit blew up for some un-
known ‘reason,. resulting in a
10-hour power outage. On Nov.

took place’ Oct. - 24, Gregoire _

19.one of the power poles in Be

- Stewart was hit by a truck; on
‘Nov, 27'a meter and a half of
‘ snow fell, taking out the line

branches.

‘Gregoire described the co-
operation from B.C. Hydro as
“excellent”? and noted that the
power agreement had been

critical to Westmin’s decision to . ae

go ahead with the mine.
Stewart Chamber of : “Com-
merce president Gary Hubbard
said, ‘‘This power source is the
tool to build the future of this
community.’’ He went on to say
the next step for Stewart is to
improve the transportation cor-
ridor, Highway 37. a
The new power: arrangement

_ isn’t without limits, however.

The 32-megawatt capacity leaves
little room for expansion, being
designed to serve existing de-
mand from the community and

“Save up

Skeena MLA Dave Parker and Stewart mayor Darlene Cornell threw a symbolic electric
switch to mark the port community’s connec
‘wasn’t all show — the switch closed: a circu

Elementary School.

tion to the B.C. Hydro provincial grid Dec. 1. It
It to light up the Christmas tree at Stewart. -_

the mine with enough left over
to. power the equivalent of a
medium-sized sawmill, Cornell

and Hubbard both see a wood-.
processing plant as the next step

in Stewart's industrial develop-
ment.
Cornell sees the SUpPIY of grid

to 5

power as the main accomplish-
ment,- saying that if industrial
expansion requires it the line can

always be upgraded at. some

point in the future...
- Meanwhile the. diesels will re-

main in.‘Stewart -for at least:

another year as a back-up source

Electric Bill.”

e HEATING e COOKING ©

@ DRYING
@ GAS FIREPLACES _
@ HOT WATER TANKS”

| on hot water tank installations.

‘

of power. The new lines go
through the avalanche-prone
Bear Pass, a route at least as
adverse as. the area between
Greenville and Kincolith, where

power outages are virtually a

imp GANS

way Oflif. $=.»

GAS: THE INTELLIGENT CHOICE

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