Tens of thousands of BC Hydro customers without power in B.C.'s Lower Mainland

Thousands of BC Hydro customers were left without power this morning as snow and freezing rain blanketed the Lower Mainland.

At its peak, nearly 30,000 customers had no power between 7 and 9 a.m. PT this morning. Over 16,000 customers are still without power, BC Hydro reported as of 11 a.m. PT.

Burnaby, Vancouver, Surrey, Port Moody and Maple Ridge are some of the hardest hit areas and a detailed list of where the outages are can be found on BC Hydro website.

BC Hydro spokesperson Kevin Aquino said the outages are weather related. Snow is weighing down on tree branches and falling on power lines leading to the outages, he explained

"Crews are on site and are being dispatched as we speak, and we're ensuring customers are restored as safely and quickly as possible," he said.

The unusually cold temperatures have increased electricity demand provincewide by 19 per cent over the past two weeks. On Friday, Dec. 16 BC Hydro saw the highest demand for electricity in three years.