Extent Of Oil Spill At Hydro Sub-station Could Be Substantive

By Michelle Cyr-Whiting

They didn’t cause an outage or electrocute themselves, but thieves who broke into B.C. Hydro’s Sub-station along Highway 16-East left behind a hazardous environmental situation...

RCMP report the thieves cut through a fence at the Sub-station and broke into a shed, stealing the brass fittings off a  transformer.

As a result, B.C. Hydro’s Bob Gammer says the transformer’s insulating oil leaked out.  He says it was a spare and could potentially hold 18-thousand litres of fluid. 

Gammer says, at this point, it’s not known how much oil spilled.  Hydro crews took protective measures to clean up the mess and notified officials with the Provincial Emergency Program.

Gammer says an assessment of the area is underway, but it’s too early to say just what the clean up will entail or what it might cost.

Gammer did not know whether the frozen ground would be a help or a hindrance to clean up crews. 

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