Manitoba Hydro customers in Ile des Chenes will be in the dark Sunday morning for about thirty minutes.

Hydro spokesperson Scott Powell says a planned power interruption will take place Sunday, January 15th beginning at 6 am. Approximately 1,500 customers in Ile des Chenes and the Oak Grove Road area will be impacted. Powell says the interruption will allow Manitoba Hydro to safely transfer electrical load from Grande Pointe station, which has served the area since the 1950's, to a new distribution supply centre (DSC) two kilometres north of Ile des Chenes.

According to Powell, the new DSC will address significant residential and commercial development in the region. It will also provide a more reliable electrical supply to customers and prevent the possibility of an extended outage during peak load conditions.

"There haven't been any more outages than normal but the station at Grande Pointe was at its maximum capacity," says Powell. "And with the significant residential and commercial development in that area there was really no other way to accommodate that growth."

Powell says if Manitoba Hydro would choose not to address the capacity and reliability issue, then over time there would be more frequent outages of a longer duration. The improved service will allow for future growth in the area.

Meanwhile, Powell says there is never a great time to interrupt service to customers, but he says there are several factors they consider when deciding on a day and time. First of all, they consider the weather. With Sunday expected to be milder than normal, Powell says it makes more sense than on an extremely cold day. Another factor taken into consideration is the time of day. Powell says there is usually a low load on the system early Sunday mornings.