After a week of power outages last month, Nibinamik First Nation is facing issues with its diesel generator system once again.
This remote Oji-Cree community, also known as Summer Beaver, is situated around 500 kilometres north of Thunder Bay, Ont. Chief Stanley Oskineegish reports that about 400 people live there, and the population is on the rise.
A series of power disruptions in February led to frozen pipes in roughly 30 percent of homes within the First Nation.
On Wednesday, workers found that the community’s main generator – a Caterpillar C27 – had suffered a mechanical breakdown.
“The C27 experienced a failure where bolts sheared off at the flywheel, causing damage and forcing the unit offline. This is being treated as a warranty issue. Toromont is actively sourcing the required parts, and repairs are expected to take about two weeks, depending on parts availability,” the First Nation said in a statement on Wednesday.
“Currently, the community is operating on one generator, which is stable and carrying the current load. However, as a precaution, all residents are asked to limit power usage in their homes until further notice. This will help maintain a steady and reliable power supply for everyone.”
Nibinamik has four generators altogether. With its newer C27 out of action now, it’s relying on an older C27 generator for power along with a smaller C15 as backup, explained band councillor Walter Oskineegish.
Community members are also attempting repairs on a C18 generator; its radiator may need external repairs.
Chief Walter Oskineegish stresses that more reliable equipment is desperately needed by the First Nation but time is running short to transport it via seasonal winter road before spring arrives.
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“I only have a window of maybe one week, two weeks kind of thing if I need to bring in something that’s heavy to help us power our community, and it’s going so fast,” he told on Friday.
“That’s my hope, is to have something that I can rely on.”
reached out to Indigenous Services Canada for comment regarding support being offered to the community and received an emailed statement on Friday.
“Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) is aware of the challenges affecting Nibinamik First Nation in relation to power generation. ISC met regularly with the First Nation and partners to provide immediate supports such as generators, food, water and other supplies as requested by the community,”said spokesperson Jacinthe Goulet.
“We have been in discussions with the community about additional repair and recovery efforts, and supports available through ISC programming.” Nibinamik declared a state of emergency on Feb. 20 when electricity went out. Meanwhile, there’s still an ongoing state of emergency from 2020 related to issues with their diesel generating system..![]()
About 400 people live in Nibinamik First Nation , a remote Oji-Cree community located northwest Ontario. Accessible only by plane or seasonal winter road.(Dave Mossman)<
The frequent outages have also harmed many appliances like stoves, washers, and dryers due surges.<
The chief himself has replaced his washer dryer three times over two years-and he’s noticed more appliances stacking up at landfills.
He also fears potential house fires considering not every home has functioning smoke detectors.
“That’s what my community experiencing because of this,” Chief Oskineegish said.
While they continue repairing generators, Nibinamik says it’s doing everything possible offers essential services members.
“This includes arranging temporary rental units support key buildings like school, bands office administration office store if needed. Source back-up generator Plant expedite it if necessary,”states statement from Wednesday’s meeting.
“We’ll keep monitoring situation closely provide updates work progresses.”
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“We have been in discussions with the community about additional repair and recovery efforts, and supports available through ISC programming.” Nibinamik declared a state of emergency on Feb. 20 when electricity went out. Meanwhile, there’s still an ongoing state of emergency from 2020 related to issues with their diesel generating system..
Strain on appliances and residents with medical needs
The water pipes in between 70 and 80 percent of homes within Nibinamik have been restored since last month’s outages according to Chief Oskineegish.. However,with unreliable backup power available,he’s concerned about vulnerable members during repairs.” “We have people on oxygen in our community , and we have people [who use] medical beds,” he stated.Source link
