And with the flick of a switch the lights came back...

A pair of mysteries were cleared up by BC Hydro on Tuesday.

Power across the Northwest went out late Tuesday afternoon, after a pole fire between Terrace and Kitimat knocked out the power connection between the Northwest and the Alcan smelter in Kitimat.

The aluminum plant was providing power to the region at the time, while BC Hydro workers were working on the main line across the north from Prince George.

When the fire knocked the power off the grid from Kitimat, Hydro crews quickly re-connected the main supply from Prince George to get the Northwest back on line roughly an hour and a half later.

The discovery that we were operating on Alcan power explains the rather strange sense of time around Prince Rupert these last few days, a situation where clocks run fast and rarely keep time with each other in a home let alone from home to home.

It's the latest in a number of annoying power failures for the city, most of which have the inconvenience to arrive in late afternoon just as the dinner plans begin to fall into place. No doubt making for a surge in propane sales in town, just in case...

The full account of the day's power troubles can be found on the TV 7 website .