NB Power expects facility in Grand Falls to be back on line by November

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By Mark Rickard

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The flood waters have receded, but work is expected to continue until November to get the Grand Falls hydroelectric dam back on line and producing electricity, NB Power officials told the Victoria Star last week.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF NB POWER

The Grand Falls Powerhouse, located at the base of the gorge, was flooded with five feet of muddy water on May 1. Eighty workers are restoring the facility, and damages to the hydroelectric plant are expected to exceed $10 million.

FILE PHOTO

An aerial photo taken on May 1, 2008, shows the swollen St. John River surrounding the NB Power facility in Grand Falls. Restoration work to get the hydroelectric facility back in production is expected to wrap up by Nov. 1.

Keith Cronkhite, manager of the hydro region for NB Power, said the damage to the Grand Falls powerhouse caused by the May 1 flood was unprecedented in the 100-year history of the facility. The powerhouse is located at the base of the Grand Falls gorge with the dam located at the top of the world-famous waterfall.

"The generators themselves remained about eight- to 10-inches above the high-water mark. The generators themselves remained intact and were not damaged by the flooding, which is a good thing," Cronkhite said. "The previous high-water mark was in 1979, and the flood event this spring was about four-feet above that."

The manager said the three turbines at the Grand Falls station produce up to 66 megawatts, but the station will be off the grid for at least another three months.

"The end result of the flooding was that we received approximately five feet of water on the generator floor. As a result of that water being in the powerhouse, we are now in the middle of restoration project of replacing pumps, motors, motor control centres, cabling, all the necessary equipment to operate the station below the water line, the majority of that is being replaced," Cronkhite stated. "We anticipate that, given our current schedule, the majority of the plant should be back online in late October or early November."

Cronkhite said the final repair bill is still uncertain, but NB Power expects it will cost more than $10 million to get the station operational. Like any other major restoration, the final price tag will depend on the damage discovered as the work continues. Contractors and NB Power employees are doing the work.

"We have 70 to 80 people on-site and will peak at around 100," Cronkhite said. "We are looking at bringing two units on first, followed up by the third and fourth units after."

The manager said the restoration work is geared to getting the plant back online, but the utility will take advantage of the work to update some equipment to make it more efficient.

"There are a lot of logistic issues around this project. The difference between this and any typical restoration project is you have a lot of leave time and are able to plan in advance. With this work the result of a high-water event, your lead time is gone and you are planning as you speak and ordering equipment the next day."

The powerhouse repairs mean more water is being released by the dam to cascade through the falls and gorge, delighting tourists visiting Malabeam Centre and La Rochelle. Cronkhite confirmed NB Power is experiencing an "above-average" generation season at the other hydroelectric facilities on the St. John River, but no electricity will be generated in Grand Falls until the repairs are completed.

"More water is going through the spillway (the gorge) with the units being down. We are not able to taken advantage of the opportunity."

Cronkhite said it is hard to estimate how much generation NB Power is losing because of the powerhouse damage, but it is a significant amount of energy.

"The Grand Falls station generally operates around 85-per-cent capacity, so we are talking about a significant amount of energy for our system."

Cronkhite said the Grand Falls facility employs six full-time employees, and everyone is focused on getting the plant back online.

"We have an excellent team there, and we are committed to getting this plant operating as soon as possible," he stated.