The Summerside Electric plant remains in full operation following a fire on Tuesday evening that led to the shutdown of all generators, as stated by the city on Wednesday evening. The fire started just before 6 p.m. and was officially extinguished by 7:30 p.m. However, the plant will remain closed until further notice.
According to the city’s statement on Wednesday, the fire marshal has conducted a thorough assessment and will issue a final report. The fire was attributed to a malfunction in one engine, causing minimal damage confined to the engine’s exhaust piping system. While one engine remains out of service, another will be operational once it undergoes cleaning.
The rest of the power plant is secure and fully functional, with no additional damage reported. Mayor Dan Kutcher of Summerside mentioned to CBC News that the plant’s generators typically do not run continuously. However, due to recent cold weather and transmission issues on the Island, they have been running at maximum capacity for several days.
Kutcher explained the city’s reliance on power from New Brunswick, highlighting challenges in receiving sufficient power from Maritime Electric. As a result, the generators have been operating more than desired. The plant contributes 15 megawatts of power to the grid when operational.
To address the power supply situation, Maritime Electric has increased transmission capacity to accommodate more power from New Brunswick. Summerside is also utilizing alternative power sources such as its solar farm, battery storage, windmill, and generators at municipal facilities. Kutcher emphasized the need for direct access to power from New Brunswick to alleviate the city’s dependence on internal resources.
The fire at the Summerside Electric plant was officially declared over by the Summerside Fire Department at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The city will continue to explore options to diversify its power sources and reduce reliance on internal generators until a more stable power supply is established.
