Power plant upgrades near completion
Work expected to increase reliability
Roxanna Thompson
Northern News Services
Published Thursday, October 16, 2014
TTHEK'EHDELI/JEAN MARIE RIVER
Upgrades to the power plant in Jean Marie River are expected to create greater reliability for the community and improve fuel efficiency.
The Northwest Territories Power Corporation is finishing a number of changes at the plant that were scheduled as part of the corporation's capital plan. A new, larger, diesel generator has been installed to replace a smaller one.
The three existing diesel generators used older technology and weren't as efficient, said Pam Coulter, a spokesperson with the corporation. Sometimes two of the generators had to run at the same time to provide enough electricity for the community. Replacement parts were also becoming difficult to obtain.
"Now it will be able to operate and provide the community with enough power just from one," she said, referring to the new generator.
At the same time the control system and wiring in the plant were updated. The work, which started about a year ago, will give the community a more reliable power source and will make the plant more fuel efficient, said Coulter.
In order to make the changes with the least amount of interruption to the community, the corporation brought in a transport truck trailer with generators on it to provide a temporary power supply for Jean Marie River. The trailer was parked beside the power plant.
To complete the work, two scheduled power outages will still be required. One was scheduled to take place on Oct. 11 for six to eight hours.
Through its website, residents in any community served by the corporation can sign up for email alerts that will let them know about upcoming planned outages.
All of the upgrades should be completed this week and the trailer will then be removed, Coulter said.
