An east Richmond business owner claims several power outages within a week earlier this month cost his business thousands of dollars.
Isidor Buchmann, founder and CEO of Cadex Electronics, claims his business lost around $10,000 after the almost 20-hour power outage on Aug. 2 and 3 and another five-hour outage on the morning of Aug. 8.
The Richmond News previously reported a downed tree caused damage to five wires and two power poles near River Road at No. 7 Road on Aug. 2 that had more than 2,000 customers without power for almost an entire day.
Buchmann told the News the outages "destroyed and damaged" their phone system and also had to send their staff home "at a high expense."
Cadex is an engineering and manufacturing company with 75 staff working in a 40,000-square-feet building in Fraserwood Way's industrial area.
"These power outages seem to be connected with past other outages that lasted hours, and this poses a concern," said Buchmann.
"To lose over $10,000 in a short length of time is unbelievable for us."
When Buchmann contacted BC Hydro to discuss solutions, he was told there was "no definite plan" but they are working on finding solutions for those in east Richmond.
"They said they know we're in a disadvantaged position, power-wise, in our area," said Buchmann.
"There's nothing they can do immediately. They don't give out compensation. They suggested we get a diesel generator, but that would be quite expensive - around $50,000."
BC Hydro data shows downward trend in outages
Despite east Richmond business owners and residents claiming outages have increased recently, BC Hydro's data showed a downward trend.
Susie Rieder, spokesperson for BC Hydro, said a reliablity report, between 2020 and 2024, by the agency showed Steveston/Richmond-East experienced about 45 per cent fewer power outages than average BC Hydro customers in the past five years.
"In fact, the frequency of power interruptions in Steveston/Richmond-East communities has trended down," said Rieder.
She added the five-year average is 21 per cent fewer than those in the Fraser Valley West, including in Delta, Ladner, Langley, Tsawwassen, White Rock and Surrey.
"When it comes to outage duration, customers in (the Steveston/Richmond-East) area experienced an average of 2.8 hours of power outages over the last five years -- about 51 per cent less than the average of 5.76 hours of power outages experienced by all BC Hydro customers over the same period," said Rieder.
The provincial utility said they do everything they can when outages are reported.
"We are also constantly working on outage prevention by making upgrades to our system and managing vegetation to keep outages to a minimum," said Rieder.
She added most outages in B.C. are caused by trees and adverse weather while tree canopies, wildlife and electrical infrastructure being close together in urban areas increase the risk of outages.
BC Hydro can't guarantee a constant supply of electricity, according to Rieder.
"Because of this, we can't be held responsible for loss, injury or damage caused by an interruption or defect in the supply of electricity."
However, BC Hydro considers all damage claims on an "individual basis to ensure fair and consistent treatment."
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