N.S. Power to get $31M from ratepayers for Michelin plant upgrade

The Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board has approved an application from Nova Scotia Power to spend $31 million from ratepayers for an electrical upgrade at the Michelin Tire plant in Waterville that should help with brief power disruptions.

The upgrade is the installation of a dynamic voltage restorer that will boost load during brief voltage sags at the tire manufacturing facility. Nova Scotia Power is required by the province to ensure voltage is nearly instantaneously restored after a disruption to a transmission customer. The dynamic voltage restorer injects voltage within 1/100th of a second during a disruption.

The province says its regulations are designed to help large industrial operations that have complained about brief power interruptions leading to production shutdowns and financial losses. 

In February, the president of Michelin North America (Canada) Inc. informed the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board in a letter that its Waterville plant "has received power quality that is less than the range specified" in the regulations and that the disruptions have become increasingly frequent in the last several years.

After reviewing evidence and submissions, the review board said it accepted that the technology was necessary for Nova Scotia Power to comply with the regulations and that project costs — $31,170,675 — are "reasonable."