NEWS ARCHIVES

August 27, 2010

Power outage update

Residents, I have received an update from Hydro Ottawa about the latest power outage that occurred on August 17.

At approximately 3:30 pm, Hydro Ottawa identified that an overhead switch ((the RX2010, located outside of Alexander Distribution Station on the Alex F3 circuit) that feeds part of Stittsville had opened. Shortly afterwards, the Fire Department reported of a pole fire in the Johnwoods/Mika area. By 5 p.m. Hydro Ottawa field staff determined that there was a broken connection on an overhead switch on John Woods that had resulted in a phase-to-phase fault causing both the fire and the operation of the initial switch. Field staff completed repairs and the switched was closed.

Hydro System Control later received reports of outages at the Fernbank end of Stittsville or customers served by another switch (RX2013) This is an older switch, and is not remotely monitored and controlled from system office. Staff determined that another switch was open and they were also looking for other problems. The crews found no problems on the line and attempted to close the switch at 7:30 pm. The switch re-opened, so the crew attempted to close again, but again the switch re-opened. There was a large volume of customers with air conditioners all at once on a hot day. Restoration therefore had to be done in segments, part at a time over the next ninety minutes.

To improve reliability in Stittsville, Hydro Ottawa have several projects now underway, including:

  •  New remotely monitored and controlled switches have been installed on the two circuits out of the Alexander Distribution Station, which supplies power to many homes in Stittsville. This will help isolate problems at the Alexander Station, without requiring Hydro One involvement. In addition to better overall service, this will enable Hydro Ottawa to restore power more quickly to our Stittsville customers when an outage does occur.

  •  Hydro Ottawa is replacing much of the old equipment still operating in the Stittsville area including new transformer connections for 23 ground mounted transformers, four new connection boxes (pedestals) and three new ground mounted switches.

  •  Hydro Ottawa is purchasing land adjacent to the Hydro One transmission corridor near Terry Fox Drive and preparing the engineering needed for the construction of a new transformer station, called the Terry Fox Transformer Station.

  •  To provide back-up support for this new station and further flexibility and capacity in the Stittsville area over the short-term, there is a plan to connect two new feeders to the existing circuits from the Janet King station on Hazeldean Road this year. These new feeders will share the load with the Alexander circuits which supplies much of Stittsville. They will also provide backup supply to the Alexander Distribution Station and the Bridlewood Municipal Station, which also supplies power to a portion of Stittsville.

Over the next two years, several projects are planned to further improve service to customers in Stittsville such as:

  •  The new Terry Fox Transformer Station will be scheduled to be in service in 2013 and will provide immediate support for south Kanata and Stittsville and the long-term capacity required to meet the high growth anticipated for these areas.

  •  Hydro Ottawa will continue to replace transformer connections throughout Stittsville and will install another remotely operated switch to provide further back up to the Stittsville area. This will allow Hydro Ottawa’s system operators to remotely transfer loads and restore power faster without having to dispatch crews to the problem area.

  •  Equipment on the Stittsville main overhead system will also be revitalized beginning in 2011, including the replacement of “fuse” cut-outs with modern equipment that will facilitate faster restoration times in the event of an outage.
    I hope this information is useful and if you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact my office.

City seeks feedback on public art for Hazeldean Road extension

When construction of the Hazeldean Road extension is complete in the spring of 2011, the main east-west corridor between Carp Road and Terry Fox Drive will be widened from two to four lanes. Included in this project will be an area with public art and the City wants to hear from residents.

The City’s Public Art Program held a design competition for aluminum banners to be installed on the pedestrian light poles that line the street. The call for submissions offered three areas for public art on these light poles, two in Kanata West and one in Stittsville. Of the 17 submissions, nine were selected.

I encourage residents to come and meet the artists, view the proposals, and give comments on Tuesday, September 14 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Goulbourn Recreation Complex located at 1500 Shea Road. Comments will be taken into consideration during the selection committee’s deliberations to select the winning proposals.

For more information, please call 613-244-3745 or e-mail publicartprogram@ottawa.ca.

Public meeting for Monarch/Cardel and Abbott/Fernbank Subdivisions

I am encouraging residents to attend an important public meeting detailing plans for the subdivisions of Monarch/Cardel and Abbott/Fernbank on September 9 in Hall B of the Goulbourn Recreation Complex located at 1500 Shea Road.

It’s important to attend the meeting so residents can view the plans and address any questions, comments and concerns to the appropriate individuals that will be on hand at the meeting.

Abbott-Fernbank plans
The proposed plan of subdivision will be primarily comprised of low and medium density residential units, including single-detached dwellings, multiple-attached dwelling units and stacked townhome dwelling units. The proposed plan of subdivision also includes institutional blocks, a mixed-use block, a park block, a park and ride block, a paramedic post block, and a storm water management block. in accordance with the Fernbank Community Design Plan. The subject lands are designated General Urban Area by Official Plan amendment 77 (Fernbank Community Design Plan), which is currently under appeal. The subject lands are currently zoned Development Reserve Zone (DR) and will be subject to rezoning at a later date

Monarch-Cardel plans
The proposed plan of subdivision will be primarily comprised of low and medium density residential units, including single-detached dwellings, street townhome dwelling units and stacked townhome/low-rise apartment dwelling units. The proposed plan of subdivision also includes a park block, an open space block, and a storm water management block. A small portion of 5431 Fernbank Road is proposed to allow for roadway access to Terry Fox Drive from the plan of subdivision. The subject lands are designated General Urban Area by Official Plan amendment 77 (Fernbank Community Design Plan). The subject lands are currently zoned Development Reserve Zone (DR), a designation intended to accommodate future development. The lands will be subject to rezoning at a later date.

Always listening and acting on your concerns

As your Councillor, I always welcome your keen input and ideas on how we can sustain and improve Stittsville.

Please contact our office anytime by phone at 613-580-2476 or by e-mail at Shad.Qadri@ottawa.ca.

My ward office is located in the Goulbourn Recreation Complex, located at 1500 Shea Road. The hours of operation for the summer are Mondays 9-1pm, Wednesdays 3-7pm, Fridays 9-4pm, and Saturday 9-12pm. Please do not hesitate to pay us a visit.

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