An equipment failure at BC Hydro’s Athalmer Substation is blamed for a power outage that hit about 5,000 homes and businesses in the Invermere and Radium Hot Springs area Saturday, October 15. Power was down for nearly three hours, with service restored around 11:30 a.m.

Hydro community relations manager Sally Masters says the failure involved a transformer in the substation, which is currently being upgraded by the utility. The Athalmer Substation expansion project, which ran through the summer, is expected to wrap up later this fall.

“Once the upgrade project is complete there will be two larger capacity transformers in place which will improve reliability and provide greater capacity to support growth in the Columbia Valley,” Masters said.