Canada's Smallest Province Mostly Without Electricity Today

Luckily for me I work in a technology centre which has backup generation capabilities! Prince Edward Island has been hit with freezing rain for the past couple of days and it is making life difficult for many Islanders. Schools have been canceled for most of the Island's students all week, and while travel has been difficult the power has stayed on for most of us until about noon today when there occurred a near system wide blackout. We have been busy scrounging around for extension cords, as not all of the outlets in the office are supplied by the emergency power system. The floors are a tangle of wires and we are without lights but for the most part we are still up and running. I don't have the luxury of backup electricity at home but the propane fireplace should keep the place heated. Oh, the joys of winter in Canada!

Power utilities go high tech in an attempt to stop copper theives

The Globe and Mail has an interesting article about the power utilities in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia turning to DataDot technology to deter thieves from stealing copper grounding wire from substations. The technology involves painting tiny micro dots onto the wire, the dots can then be uniquely identified by a code that is laser etched onto them. This allows the utility to identify the wire as their own and may serve as a deterrent. In my opinion, it will only really aid police in identifying wire as being stolen, after the fact, and will help in prosecution. Which, I guess, in turn helps to deter the thieves. I don't expect the scrap metal dealers will be examining the wire they purchase with microscopes. The technology though is quite interesting and the manufacturer describes many uses, mostly from the recovery standpoint.