Chopper delivers new generators
State of emergency about to be lifted after April 4 fire at power plant
Casey Lessard
Northern News Services
Monday, April 20, 2015
PANNIQTUUQ/PANGNIRTUNG
A state of emergency was expected to be lifted as soon as four self-contained generator units arrived in Pangnirtung by helicopter this week, acting as a mid-term solution ahead of a new power plant's arrival by sealift this coming summer.
A heavy-lift helicopter delivered the first two mid-term replacement generator units to Pangnirtung April 17 after repeated weather delays throughout the week. Two more were expected to be delivered over the weekend. - Casey Lessard/NNSL photo |
Emergency generators restored power April 6 to the hamlet after an April 3 fire destroyed the power plant. All schools, government offices and local businesses are back to normal operating hours.
Foresight helped lessen the impact of the fire because emergency generators were recently placed in most communities where the runways are too short to land a C-130 Hercules, including Pangnirtung, Grise Fiord, and Kimmirut, said the Qulliq Energy Corporation. Clyde River will get one this summer.
The emergency generators are designed to provide half of the power of the main generator in each hamlet. Usually they are designed to bring the plant back to full power in the case of the loss of one engine, not an entire plant.
The presence of the backup in the hamlet meant it took only 18 hours to get to half-power in the community, Qulliq Energy Corporation president Alain Barriault said.
The fire added to the problems faced by QEC, which faces a major infrastructure crisis. The Pangnirtung building was built in 1971, although the generators had been replaced several times.
"Currently, we have 17 out of our 26 plants that are near or at the end of their useful life," Barriault said, pegging the cost to replace those at $200 million.
Taloyoak and Qikiqtarjuaq are the first to get new plants. Grise Fiord and Cape Dorset are next.
"We keep strategically placing our capital dollars where they're most needed to try to keep everything running. We're doing generator replacements more than we're doing plant replacements. Then we do upgrades to structures, to switch gears, to distribution networks as needed."
Eventually, "things just don't connect anymore," he said. "It's like trying to run new software on an old version of Windows on your computer. At some place you have to replace the computer. We're facing similar types of challenges. Some of the old parts, it's almost impossible to find replacement parts for them anymore."
Efforts to end the local state of emergency in Pangnirtung were hampered this week by the inability to transport replacement generators by plane, because the airport runway is too short to land a C-130 Hercules that could have delivered the units earlier.
Instead, the government hired an Antonov An-124-100, the world's second largest cargo plane, to bring in a Sikorsky S-64F Skycrane heavy-lift helicopter, which was set to make four trips, transporting each 13,000-lb. generator from Iqaluit to Pangnirtung. The plane arrived April 13, but high wind grounded the helicopter April 14 and 15. The first flight on April 16 was blocked by whiteout conditions en route and turned back to Iqaluit. The helicopter was set to be led by scout planes in the next attempt.
QEC requested three generators, but the Nunavut Emergency Management office decided to bring in four just in case. Once on the ground, the generators are relatively simple - compared to the permanent solution - to connect to the grid, Community and Government Services director of protective services Ed Zebedee said.
Zebedee pointed out that it was one of the most logistically challenging emergencies he has seen in 27 years with the government. Eight staff in his office were involved from the start, with employees engaged within minutes of the 3 a.m. request for assistance.
Once the generators are on the ground and running, the state of emergency could be lifted, he said, and his department will examine the emergency response.
And the crisis won't add to the government infrastructure burden.
"We have insurance," for fire, Barriault said. "All our plants are insured. We've already met with our insurance adjusters, and they've been to the Pangnirtung fire site. We do have good coverage. This is not something that is going to impact ratepayers."
