Warmer weather means higher, faster water
"Our message is: Stay Clear! Stay Safe!" said Dave Heath, Plant Manager for OPG's Niagara Plant Group.
"Easter is the first long weekend so people start to think about being outdoors. Fishing and boating season is right around the corner and this is the perfect time to go over water safety plans with your friends and family," he added.
Most hydroelectric facilities are remotely controlled by operators who may be kilometres away. To meet the fluctuating demand for electricity throughout the day, these operators open or close dams or start or stop generators as needed. This causes frequent and rapid changes in the water flow and levels often creating strong undertows, turbulence, and sudden, powerful gushes of water moving downstream in what was once calm looking surface water.
All waterways where an OPG dam or hydroelectric station is located have well-positioned warning signs, buoys, fences, booms, and barriers.
"They are there for the public's safety and to let everyone know that the areas around the signs are dangerous, so Stay Clear! Stay Safe says Heath.
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Manitoba looking to raise electricity rates 2.5 per cent each year for 3 years
WINNIPEG - The Manitoba government is planning to raise electricity rates by 2.5 per cent a year over the next three years.
Finance Minister Scott Fielding says the increases, to be presented in a bill before the legislature, are the lowest in a decade and will help keep rates among the lowest in Canada.
Crown-owned Manitoba Hydro had asked for a 3.5 per cent increase this year to help pay off billions of dollars in debt.
“The way we figured this out, we looked at the rate increases that were approved by PUB (Public Utilities Board) over the last ten years, (and) we…
