A new project in the Lardeau Valley will provide homeowners with ideas on how to become less vulnerable to prolonged power outages.
“With increasing levels of unpredictability around extreme weather events and vulnerability of rural communities to extended and frequent power outages, how do we support our resilience in small communities?” asked Paris Marshall Smith, a planner with the Regional District of Central Kootenay.
She said while utilities have a role to play, other thingst can be done at the household and community level to ensure backup systems are in place and that people know what technological options are available to them, such as batter storage and micro-generation.
“Our role at the RDCK is to understand what’s possible,” Marshall Smith said. “We’re interested in doing some piloting in different communities and providing information residents.”
The RDCK has given $6,500 to the Lardeau Valley Opportunity LINKS Society to provide home assessments and rebates. Similar to the FireSmart program, someone comes to your home and provides recommendations for what your home or property needs. Only in this case, rather than to reduce the risk of wildfire, it’s to keep the lights on.
Marshall Smith said the north end of Kootenay Lake and Lardeau Valley are particularly prone to power outages because of the way the grid is designed. Although BC Hydro has done some work to reduce the likelihood of trees striking power lines, the area is remote and at the end of the line.
“When systems do go down people’s livelihoods are impacted, along with their health in terms of not having adequate refrigeration for medications,” Marshall Smith said.
“They also have communication challenges because their systems can be impacted by power outages. It’s a great place to test different solutions and see how we can apply them to other communities.”
She said they are chiefly looking at battery packs to take the place of high-carbon fuels like diesel or propane generators, in addition to independent power production. Another possibility is bio-directional charging, where your electric vehicle functions as a battery pack that can charge your home in an emergency.
Marshall Smith said they are starting with a pilot project to understand what is reasonable, when they would support larger system installations at community halls and what they can recommend for individual homes.
Many people in rural communities already have back-up power systems in place, she said, and they want to add on to and diversify those systems, not necessarily replace them.
The project will roll out this summer with a report expected in the fall. The RDCK would then seek additional funding to bring the program to other areas, Marshall Smith explained.