New $13M transmission line ready to bring more electricity, reliability to Placentia area
A 43-kilometre line from Blaketown will be energized in the coming days, with 80 per cent more capacity
A new $13-million transmission line, built to withstand severe weather and deliver 80 per cent more electricity, will soon be energizing homes and businesses in the Placentia area.
"Our transmission lines, our substations, our equipment in this area has the capacity now to service customers in this area for many, many decades to come," said Byron Chubbs, Newfoundland Power's vice-president of engineering and energy supply.
It's known as Line 55L, and it's been under construction by contractor Locke's Electrical for nearly two years. As early as this week, the line will be energized and begin sending power to roughly 3,400 utility customers on the eastern shores of Placentia Bay, from Ship Harbour to Point Lance, including the growing Port of Argentia.
It's replacing a line that was built more than a half-century ago, and was threatening to expose customers to more frequent and extended unplanned outages, said Chubbs, because it's a radial line with no alternate source of supply.
Some of the old poles were badly deteriorated, and were no longer safe for line workers to climb, Chubbs added.
"So it was clear to us that this was the time this line needed to be replaced," he said.
New substation for Dunville
The eight-megawatt power transformer at the old substation in Dunville was also straining to handle the increasing power demands in the area, Chubbs explained, so it's been replaced with a 25-megawatt transformer as part of a $3 million rebuild of the substation.
The old line was also a challenge to inspect and repair, because much of it was several hundred metres from Route 100. Crews had to use all-terrain vehicles and snowmobiles to access the line, and transporting equipment was also a challenge, especially when emergency repairs were needed.
So planners intentionally built the new line parallel with the road, ensuring easy access.
Chubbs said the new line is not connected to a proposal to develop a wind farm and hydrogen-to-ammonia plant at the Port of Argentia. But, he said, the line will support "all the economic growth and spin-off opportunities for new businesses and the construction of that wind farm."
Affect on rates 'negligible'
When the new line is energized, customers in the area can expect an outage of up to six hours. However, Chubbs said, customers can also expect a much more reliable and enhanced connection to the province's power grid.
The company is regulated by the public utilities board, and must convince the PUB that its investments are warranted and that the rates charged by utilities like Newfoundland Power are just and reasonable. The company received approval for Line 55L nearly three years ago.
As for the new line's impact on power rates, Chubbs said it will be "negligible" because Newfoundland Power's investment will be recovered from customers over the 60-year lifespan of the line.
He said the bigger impact would be ignoring the deteriorating condition of the old line, and accepting the risk of more frequent outages, costly emergency repairs and constraining economic development in the area because of a capacity shortfall.
Chubbs said Newfoundland Power customers pay the lowest rates in Atlantic Canada, and have the highest reliability.
"I think it demonstrates that a reliable system is an efficient system and if you run your assets to as close to the end of life as possible, you get as much value as out of them as you can," he said. "It's lower cost overall for your customers."
Newfoundland Power operates some 12,000 kilometres of transmission and distribution lines, and rebuilds about 30 to 40 kilometres of lines each year.
Chubbs said a similar upgrade is ongoing on the southern Avalon Peninsula, in the area from Riverhead to Trepassey.
He said Newfoundland Power is awaiting final PUB approval for a nearly $21-million transmission line from Lewisporte to Boyd's Cove, with construction to begin next year.
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