NFLD

$1.8-Million in Inspections, Repairs to Thermal Generating Station Underway After Incident in Holyrood

Oct 13, 2021 | 6:13 AM

Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro is investigating as it makes repairs to one of its thermal generating stations in Holyrood, to the tune of nearly $2-million, following an incident during Hurricane Larry last month.

According to Hydro, unit 3 was being started up in advance of the hurricane. During that process on the morning of September 11, they experienced a boiler waterfall tube failure.

The say the unit tripped off, which it should during a malfunction, resulting in steam being released into the powerhouse. No one was in the immediate area at the time, but it is being treated as a “serious incident” and testing is ongoing.

The total cost of the inspection and repairs to the site is currently estimated at $1.8-million. For context, Hydro says total operations and maintenance costs for the plant in 2020, excluding fuel, were $23-million.

They say there are regulated processes in place through the PUB to manage unexpected equipment outages and associated costs.

The unit is expected to come back online in November.

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“Unit 3 at our Holyrood Thermal Generating Station was being started up in advance of Hurricane Larry. During the start up process, on the morning of September 11, we did experience a boiler waterfall tube failure. The unit tripped off, as it should during a malfunction, and there was a release of steam into the powerhouse. There were no people in the immediate area at the time of the incident, however we still treat this as a serious incident and have initiated testing and investigation into the cause. Repairs are being completed and the unit is expected to be returned to service in November.

The total cost of inspections and repair is currently estimated at approximately $1.8 Million. (Note, for context, the operations and maintenance costs for the Holyrood Plant in 2020 (not including fuel) were approximately $23 million).

For all our assets across the system – our fleet of generation, transmission and distribution (including the Holyrood Generating Station), we have regulated processes through the Public Utilities Board in place to manage unexpected equipment outages and the associated costs.”