Close

Ensuring reliability by strengthening the province’s electricity system – Hydro submits 2018 capital investment plan

July 28th, 2017

As part of our ongoing commitment to strengthen the provincial power grid and provide improved reliability for our customers, Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro (Hydro) plans to invest approximately $206 million in 2018 in a wide range of projects.

On July 28, Hydro filed the Capital Budget Application for 2018 with the Newfoundland and Labrador Board of Commissioners of Public Utilities (PUB). The application outlines more than 100 projects across the province working on critically important pieces of the electricity system.

“As the utility responsible for generating the majority of the electricity for our province, it is critical that we look ahead and plan for tomorrow as much as today,” said Jim Haynes, President of Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro. “We’re ensuring the readiness and reliability of the system, which means investing in the decades-old equipment and infrastructure that we’re using today.”

Hydro is focused on providing safe, reliable, least-cost electricity to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador. As a regulated utility, we are accountable for ensuring we invest responsibly and carefully manage costs on behalf of our customers.

“Every day the people of Newfoundland and Labrador depend on the service that Hydro provides. We take that responsibility very seriously and we’ve been making changes to ensure we manage our operations and our costs responsibly for our customers,” Haynes added.

The capital budget application is a yearly regulatory filing in which Hydro seeks the PUB’s approval to complete its annual capital plan, which includes new construction, major upgrades and refurbishments.

The 2018 capital budget application can be found at www.nlhydro.com/electricity-rates/regulatory-process/capital-budget-applications.

-30-

 

Backgrounder: 2018 Capital Budget Application Highlights

Transmission and Rural Operations – $139.2M

Key projects:

  • Increase transmission capacity and support load growth in the Upper Lake Melville area
  • Finalize a section of transmission line between the terminal stations at Soldiers Pond and Hardwoods on the Avalon Peninsula in preparation for interconnection with the Labrador Island Link
  • Ongoing work to refurbish and modernize the province’s critical terminal stations
  • Ongoing program to replace circuit breakers at various sites across the province
  • Continuing work on a multi-year project to refurbish powerhouse station services at Bay d’Espoir. Includes replacing reclosers and air blast breakers nearing the end of their service lives, replacing relays and breakers, and various other work
  • Refurbishment work on the recently acquired Wabush Terminal Station and associated equipment in the Churchill Falls Switchyard
  • Annual inspection and upgrade work on wood poles across the province as part of Hydro’s Wood Pole Line Management Program
  • Continuing work on rural diesel generators requiring overhaul for continued reliability, and replacement of diesels in Charlottetown and Port Hope Simpson

Generation$58.4M

Key projects:

Holyrood Thermal Generating Station and gas turbine

  • Necessary upgrades at the Holyrood Thermal Generating Station, to ensure it remains reliable until Muskrat Falls is in service
  • Unit 1 scheduled overhauls of generator and turbine valves.
  • Commencement of a two-year project to design, supply, and install a new heating system for the powerhouse and pumphouse required for post-Muskrat Falls in-service
  • Year one of a two-year project to inspect and overhaul the new gas turbine unit at Holyrood, in accordance with manufacturer recommendations.
  • Install two 1.25 million litre fuel tanks to expand the gas turbine fuel storage system, as well as installing additional equipment to increase water treatment system capacity, facilitating continued reliable operation

Bay d’Espoir and other hydroelectric plants

  • Refurbishment of backfill on Bay d’Espoir penstock 1
  • Continuing water system replacement projects at Bay d’Espoir and Cat Arm stations
  • Refurbishment and replacement of various components at Hydro’s nine hydroelectric generating stations.

 



Media Contact:

Jill Pitcher
Senior Communications Advisor, Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro
t. 709.737.1219 / c. 709.689.9938 e. JillPitcher@nlh.nl.ca