Full power from N.L.’s Muskrat Falls hydro project at least a year away, says report
Posted May 12, 2022 11:00 am.
Last Updated May 12, 2022 11:03 am.
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — The head of Newfoundland and Labrador’s Crown energy corporation says her team is working hard to solve the software issues plaguing the Muskrat Falls hydro project.
Jennifer Williams, chief executive officer of Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro, would not say directly if she agreed with a recent report saying full power was at least a year away, and maybe longer.
The report from Liberty Consulting Group says significant problems persist with the software that operates the transmission line connecting the Muskrat Falls power station in Labrador to the island of Newfoundland.
The report released Tuesday by the province’s utilities board says “new defects” were found with the software and it “remains impossible” to predict when everything will be fixed.
Williams said during a news conference Wednesday that Newfoundland and Labrador is preparing for delays by keeping a generating station outside the town of Holyrood, N.L., near St. John’s, operational until 2024.
Past government reports say the Holyrood generating station burns about 18,000 barrels of oil a day in peak winter months.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 12, 2022.
The Canadian Press
