Oil leak suspected in P.E.I. electrical cable

Maritime Electric is reporting it has found a problem in one of the two cables that connect P.E.I. to the mainland and provide the province with electricity.

CEO Fred O'Brien said equipment that monitors the oil pressure in Cable One revealed the problem late last week. He estimates about 240 litres of insulating oil had leaked out by that time.

"This is a very slow type of decline in the oil pressure, so we are suspecting it's a very slow leak of oil. We've notified all the necessary agencies that need to be notified, and we've backed off the pressure to the safe limits so that it mitigates any unnecessary flow outside of that," O’Brien said Wednesday.

"So, what we are looking at is probably something that would be larger than a pin hole but something maybe a finished nail type of hole, very low flow, but we need to find where it is and we need to fix it."

The trouble will require that the cable be inspected as soon as weather permits, perhaps early next week.

Divers will walk along the floor of the Northumberland Strait trying to locate the leak in the cable, he said.

 O'Brien said once the leak is identified, repairs will begin. He says it may require the cable to be taken out of service at that time.

"We consider any release to the environment a serious matter and we want to address the issue as soon as possible to minimize any impact to the environment," he said.

O'Brien said on-Island generation could make up for the electricity that is normally brought in on the cable.

The cost of repairs will not be known until the source of the leak can be determined.