How do P.E.I.’s 2 electric utilities work, and why are they at odds? [Video]

As residents of P.E.I. spent much of the last week grappling with electricity instability, the Island’s second-largest city and the utility that powers most of the province have been engaged in a very public disagreement.

It all started early Monday morning, when an outage across the western part of the Island left more than 19,000 customers without electricity. Power was restored by midday, but the Island’s power supply remained unstable while crews worked to fix a damaged substation — and that instability was felt most acutely in Summerside, which warned residents to be prepared for the possibility of rolling blackouts.

That’s because Summerside has its own utility, Summerside Electric, which is owned by the city and generates most of its own power through wind and solar farms.

But it also buys additional electricity (about 40 per cent of its power needs in 2024, according to the city) from New Brunswick Power. The energy travels to the Island through an …