Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro Comments on Liberty Consulting Group Report
April 24, 2014
Ed Martin, president and CEO of Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro, welcomed the findings of an independent review released today on the provincial electricity system.
The Liberty Consulting Group was commissioned by the Board of Commissioners of Public Utilities (PUB) to conduct an independent assessment on the power system disruptions in January, 2014.
“Hydro is a company that is focused on continuous improvement, so this independent analysis is welcome, valued and aligned with our internal investigations,” said Martin. “As such, we have been working very closely with Liberty’s team throughout their review process. We take their input and recommendations seriously and we have already started to implement those findings identified in Hydro’s previously released review. We look forward to more fully analysing Liberty’s report and making any additional changes that will ultimately strengthen the system.”
Hydro’s focus has now shifted from investigation to implementing a comprehensive action plan, noted Martin. “We are committed to ensuring our provincial electricity system can reliability meet the needs of our customers now, in the short term, and after the commissioning of Muskrat Falls,” he said. “We are putting the necessary steps in place to prevent customer disruptions of this magnitude in the future.”
Hydro anticipates it will invest approximately $160 million in capital upgrades in the provincial electricity system this year. This investment builds on the past five years, where the company has doubled its capital expenditures and ramped up its asset management program. As well, a separate application to purchase and install a 100MW combustion generation turbine for next winter has been filed with the PUB.