Utility says its ready to build for resource companies
Doug Ashbury
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (Dec 11/00) - The president of Nunavut Power Corporation says the company can meet the energy needs of mining companies in the Eastern Arctic.
"We can build and operate (a power plant) and transfer it to a mining company," said Rick Blennerhassett at the recent Nunavut Mining Symposium in Rankin Inlet.
"We can generate your power plant," he told mining industry representatives attending the event.
Blennerhassett adds that in the past mining companies considered local utilities to be slow and unable to respond to the scheduled needs of mine development.
But the recent built-from-scratch power plant in Sanikiluaq shows that the Nunavut Power Corp. can respond quickly.
Cumberland Resources, which owns the Meadowbank gold project in the Kivalliq, has expressed interest in having the Nunavut Power Corp. in on the project, says Blennerhassett.
The Sanikiluaq power plant burned to the ground May 1. Within 32 hours, power was restored to the Belcher Island community.
On Nov. 28, two of the brand new $5-million plant's three generators were operational.
"This demonstrates the capability and reliability of the engineering group," Blennerhassett said in a press release.
"It's a matter of changing the mindset. The doors are slowing starting to open."
The new plant, with three diesel engines, is capable of producing maximum power of 1,100 kilowatts per hour. The destroyed plant's three engines peaked at 900 kilowatts per hour. Sanikiluaq's peak load is about 625 kilowatts.
The Nunavut Power Corp. had planned a ceremony at the new plant two weeks ago but it was cancelled due to poor weather.
A date will likely be set in the new year, said Nunavut Power Corp. communications director Jobie Inuya.
The plant employs one full-time superintendent and one part-time operator.
Construction costs will not affect local electrical rates, according to the company.
Inuya says between $500,000 and $2.5 million of the cost to build the new plant will not be recoverable from insurance.
But the new engines are more efficient and will require less maintenance which translates into savings, he adds.
