Maritime Electric has released a sweeping set of strategies that it says will help protect Prince Edward Island’s electrical grid against future climate-related hazards.
The electric utility’s 75-page Climate Change Adaptation Strategy, released on Thursday, comes in the wake of a 2022 risk assessment spurred by post-tropical storm Dorian in 2019.
When Fiona struck the Island in September 2022, leaving tens of thousands of customers without power for days, further questions were raised about how well the province’s main electrical grid could withstand severe weather in the future.
“The intensity and frequency of extreme weather events are expected to increase in the future due to climate change,” reads the report’s executive summary.
“Maritime Electric is committed to plan for and adapt to the changing regional climate to maintain reliable electricity service for customers.”
The climate adaptation document lays out 17 strategies across Maritime Electric’s operations.
It also outlines some options the utility won’t be exploring despite those post-Fiona concerns, like installing steel poles for power lines everywhere on the Island or burying all new lines underground.
