RESIDENTIAL OUTAGE CASE STUDY

Vandalism Leaves Residential Building Powerless

Vandalism, while sometimes surprisingly creative, is usually a nuisance and a hassle. But for one of our clients recently, it was much more than just a nuisance — it left dozens of residents without power.

Luckily, the Trinity team was ready with a quick and effective solution.

The Challenge: A Vandalized Transformer and an Emergency Outage

When vandals drilled a hole into the transformer of a North Vancouver residential building, it was the building’s residents who felt the impact. The hole caused an oil leak, disabling the transformer and disrupting power to the building.

The transformer was beyond repair, and no backup was in place.

In order to restore power to the building and allow residents to carry on with their lives, our client — an established electrical contractor with over 30 years in the industry — needed either a generator to provide power to the entire building, or a temporary transformer to connect the building to Hydro until a permanent replacement could be delivered.

Whatever the solution, it would have to be implemented as quickly as possible.

Our Approach: A Variety of Temporary Power Options Meets Evolving Requirements

Thanks to our extensive inventory, the Trinity team was able to source a transformer right away. But with the lengthy approval processes required to connect the temporary transformer with BC Hydro, a transformer simply wasn’t the best option.

The quicker solution came in the form of a 1MW 600V generator rental with a 1000kVA 600V-120/208V transformer transformer to step down to the required 120/208V. Along with the generator, Trinity also provided cable mats, to ensure pedestrian safety in high-traffic areas.

Mission accomplished? Not quite. With the timeline for the new transformer stretching at least six weeks ahead, fuel costs were ramping up. Now that the emergency outage had been handled, our client needed a more cost-effective longer-range option.

Going back to the drawing board for a solution that would be easier on our client’s bottom line, the Trinity team provided a 12.5kv – 120/208V substation — the same equipment the Trinity team had originally suggested. We also connected our client with a company in our network that was able to provide the fuse coordination study required by BC Hydro for the high-voltage substation to be used on site.

The Result: A Quick Emergency Response and a Fix for the Longer Term

Trinity Power’s carefully nurtured network of temporary power vendors, along with our extensive in-house fleet of equipment and our experienced and knowledgeable team meant that this client had all the options available – no detective work required.

With the quickest option at their fingertips, our client was able to restore power to residents quickly, and thanks to Trinity’s wide variety of options, they were able to install a less expensive non-emergency solution without causing any further power interruptions to residents.