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British Columbia Power Outages

Canada has no open live feed, so the quickest way to check British Columbia is the official outage map from BC Hydro and FortisBC.

BC Hydro, a provincial Crown corporation, delivers electricity to about 95% of British Columbians, and FortisBC serves the Southern Interior. Hydro produced 87% of 2023 generation. Trees falling on lines during storms are the largest contributor to BC Hydro's outage hours, and the December 20, 2018 windstorm left more than 750,000 customers without power, the most damaging storm in its history. The British Columbia Utilities Commission receives its reliability reporting.

Population
5,710,598
Estimate, 2026
Utilities
2
Weather warnings
0
Environment and Climate Change Canada
Major past events
1
December 2018 B.C.

Who to contact in British Columbia

The utilities responsible for faults in British Columbia. Search your address on an official outage map to confirm which one is yours.

Canada utilities, outage map links and phone numbers
UtilityOfficial outage mapReport by phone
BC HydroOpen ↗1-800-224-9376 (1 800 BCHYDRO); *49376 from a mobile
FortisBCOpen ↗1-866-436-7847

If you see a fallen power line, stay 10 metres away and call 911.

British Columbia on the Canada map

OntarioQuebecBritish ColumbiaAlbertaManitobaSaskatchewanNova ScotiaNew BrunswickNewfoundland and LabradorPrince Edward IslandNorthwest TerritoriesYukonNunavutOntarioQuebecBritish ColumbiaAlbertaManitobaSaskatchewanNewfoundland and LabradorNorthwest TerritoriesYukonNunavut
Canada has 13 provinces and territories, shown over a 800 by 697 map.

Boundaries: Natural Earth (public domain).

Weather warnings

Environment and Climate Change Canada (Meteorological Service of Canada) lists no active warnings for this area.

Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada (Meteorological Service of Canada)

Largest places in British Columbia

  • Vancouver
  • Surrey
  • Burnaby
  • Richmond
  • Abbotsford
  • Coquitlam

Nearby provinces and territories

Reliability in British Columbia

Average minutes without power and interruptions per customer, as published by the regulator or operator

UtilityTime without powerInterruptionsYear
BC Hydro7 hr 44 min2.252025
FortisBC3 hr 17 min1.542025

Definitions vary by source, for example in how major storms are treated, so these figures aren't a ranking. See each operator's page for the exact scope.

Major power outages affecting British Columbia

Totals may cover every area affected, not only this one. Full accounts are on the Canada page.

  1. December 2018 B.C. South Coast windstorm

    December 20, 2018

    750,000 customers affected

    BC Hydro calls it the most damaging storm in its history, with more than 750,000 customers out from Vancouver Island to the Lower Mainland, more than 400,000 of them in the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley.

    Source: BC Hydro, Report on the most damaging storm in BC Hydro history (August 2019)

British Columbia power outage news

British Columbia power outage FAQ

Who do I contact about a power outage in British Columbia?

BC Hydro (1-800-224-9376 (1 800 BCHYDRO); *49376 from a mobile) and FortisBC (1-866-436-7847) repair the local network in British Columbia, which includes Vancouver, Surrey and Burnaby.

What was the biggest power outage in British Columbia?

December 2018 B.C. South Coast windstorm (December 20, 2018) affected about 750,000 customers. BC Hydro calls it the most damaging storm in its history, with more than 750,000 customers out from Vancouver Island to the Lower Mainland, more than 400,000 of them in the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley.

How reliable is the power supply in British Columbia?

BC Hydro reported 7 hr 44 min of interruption per customer in 2025, and FortisBC reported 3 hr 17 min of interruption per customer in 2025. Scope differs between sources, so treat these as a guide and not a ranking.

Cite this page

You may reuse our derived data under CC BY 4.0 with attribution. Weather alerts contain information licensed under the Data Server End-use Licence of Environment and Climate Change Canada.

PowerOutageTracker.com. "British Columbia Power Outages." Accessed November 3, 2026. https://poweroutagetracker.com/world/canada/british-columbia
Sources (6)