'You learn from every disaster': Province spends $1.5M on gas station generators - Action News
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PEI

'You learn from every disaster': Province spends $1.5M on gas station generators

Gas stations will work with the provinces emergencey managment organization,Th and will prioritize fuel for first responders and utility crews.

45 gas stations, general stores to install generators to keep fuel pumping during outages

A driver fills car at gas station.
There is an interactive map on the province's website listing locations with generators. (Kevin Yarr/CBC)

The P.E.I. government is spending more than $1.5 million to install generators at gas stations across the province, as the Atlantic hurricane season continues.

At least 45 stations and general stores will get a generator, the province said Thursday, and businesses will pay for some of it.

"Whether it's a hurricane or a snowstorm or ice storm, any event that can knock out power for a long period of time, it's important that we have that petroleum access for our backup generation," said Bloyce Thompson, minister of justice and public safety.

People in North Rustico, P.E.I. lineup for gas in the days after post-tropical storm Fiona hit P.E.I. in September 2022.
People in North Rustico, P.E.I. lineup for gas in the days after post-tropical storm Fiona hit P.E.I. in September 2022. (Martin Trainor/CBC)

The announcement comes nearly two years after post-tropical storm Fiona caused widespread power outages. Residents lined up in droves for vehicle and generator fuel, and some stations ran out.

"I think you learn from every disaster and of course there's always an after action plan that you go with," said Thompson. "And this was one of those things that was identified that we need to improve on."

'It was essential to have'

Brittany Martin, manager of the Quick-Stop in Stratford, said in the days after Fiona, people started lining up for fuel at 4 a.m., before the store even opened.

"It was incredibly busy. It was nonstop down the road," said Martin.

A large green piece of metal equipment with various parts.
This generator at the Stratford Quick-Stop provided relief during post-tropical storm Fiona in 2022. (Laura Meader/CBC)

Her store had a generator before Fiona, she said, and it gets used frequently during power outages in the winter, too.

"It was essential to have the generator," she said. "It was essential to be open for the customers and for the community, and I'm glad that we had it."

Above average hurricane season expected

This year's Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30, is predicted to be above average, said the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The group estimates between 17 and 35 named storms, eight to 13 hurricanes, and four to seven major hurricanes this season.

Fuel stations will work with the province's Emergency Measures Organization to display signage indicating they are open when the power is out, the province said, and give regular updates on the availability of fuel during the outage.

The Irving depot on the Charlottetown harbour, which supplies all of P.E.I. with fuel, does not have a permanent generator, but Thompson said there is an agreement in place that back up power will be brought in when needed.

A map of P.E.I., showing which gas stations will be open during an outage.
The province says that once all generators are installed, at least 45 gas stations and general stores will be able to operate during a power outage. (via princeedwardisland/ca/fuelstations)

"This is more than just gas. These are gas stations that also could sell groceries, could sell food," he said.

The province said the stations will prioritize providing fuel to first responders, utility crews and public safety personnel.

Some stations are still in the process of procuring and acquiring the generators, but the province has released a map of stations that already have installed generators, available on the province's website.

All 45 stations are expected to have generators installed and running by the fall.

with files from Laura Meader and Connor Lamont