Vancouver working to replace wood pole-mounted transformers, addressing earthquake risk

Responding to the risk of fires following an earthquake, the City of Vancouver is in the middle of replacing transformers mounted on wooden poles in the city’s downtown core, according to a report by the CBC.
A Nov. 20, 2010 report by the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction (ICLR) identified the unique seismic risk of the wooden transformer poles in downtown Vancouver.
“Wood pole-mounted transformers abound in the CBS (Central Business District of Vancouver), in many cases only inches away from commercial buildings,” the ICLR notes, citing its own research in 2001. “In past earthquakes, pole-mounted transformers arced and exploded…(and) it is expected that many ignitions would result.”
The CBC cites a BC Hydro spokesperson as saying that the Crown-owned hydro company has already started to remove the poles. It committed $50 million to the replacement project two years ago.
The CBC report notes there are about 200 wooden poles left in the downtown core and they should all be removed within four years.