Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro completed several successful run ups of the combustion turbine  this past weekend.  During testing on a final run up, an issue was identified which required the replacement of a part (a bearing in the starting unit). That work has been expedited; however, we were unable to synchronize over the weekend.  This type of fine-tuning and mechanical tweaking is not uncommon when bringing online a major plant such as the combustion turbine plant.  Work continues and we still anticipate synchronizing this week; however, we will continue to update the public over the coming days.

After Hydro connects the combustion turbine to the electricity system and continues testing capacity loads online, there may be some potential for short power interruptions during this period. Hydro will monitor weather and the system status throughout the process in order to minimize customer impacts.

The combustion turbine plant will only be used during high peak periods and emergency situations and is one element of our larger winter readiness planning. Our existing generation fleet is in good shape and we have new contracts with industrial customers to provide capacity assistance, if required. Our reserves are healthy and we anticipate no problems meeting customer demand in the days ahead.

We appreciate the level of interest and we will continue to update accordingly.