Hydro will be better prepared this winter, says VP

A top executive with Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro has offered assurances that the Crown corporation will be better prepared for potential power outages this winter.

We've completed a number of capital upgrades to our equipment which is bringing improvements, and improving reliability to the equipment.- Rob Henderson 

Vice-president Rob Henderson told CBC News this week that Hydro will have more capacity to generate power if something goes wrong.

Henderson said a new generator should be up and running by December, and Hydro has also purchased a replacement transformer for the one that caught fire in Sunnyside.

"We're going to have a new combustion turbine coming into play in December," said Henderson.

"We're going to have a lot of things in play there, just in case something does happen. We're going to have a lot more resources and everything is going to be in very good shape to respond."

Hydro officials faced a lot of criticism after major power failures in January 2014.

Rolling outages, the first of five, began on Jan. 2 during a blast of cold winter weather.

Some 188,000 customers were without power when a transformer in Sunnyside caught fire on the morning of Jan. 4, and some 110,000 customers lost power when the Holyrood switchyard failed on Jan. 5.

"We've completed a number of capital upgrades to our equipment which is bringing improvements, and improving reliability to the equipment," he added.

"Annual maintenance work will also be finished by the end of next month, so that back-up power will be available."

Some of Hydro's equipment was not available when last winter's major power failures hit, because it was down for maintenance.