Newfoundland Power wants to increase electricity production

The president and CEO of Newfoundland Power, the main electricity distributor in Newfoundland, maintains that the island cannot turn its back on thermal power plants. These will be essential during peak winter periods, he says, and more need to be built.

Gary Murray recalls that the life of the Holyrood thermal power station, operational since 1970, will soon have to be decommissioned. He also worries about grid reliability as demand is expected to rise and climate change brings more severe storms and threatens transmission lines to existing power plants.

Newfoundland Power also recently expressed concerns about the reliability of Muskrat Falls, which is still unable to operate at full capacity.

Holyrood is reaching the end of its useful life and we need alternatives when we do not have access to renewable energy sourcesaffirms Gary Murrayadding that additional thermal combustion would only be necessary in winter during peak periods.

For now, any new combustion turbine would be fueled by oil, he admits. But it will be possible to convert them to fuel renewable energies, including biofuels or hydrogen.

Hydro Newfoundland and Labrador President and CEO Jennifer Williams has already spoken about such a scenario.

Hydro NL, a Crown corporation, is the province’s primary electricity supplier. Newfoundland Powera private company, buys 94% of the energy it distributes to its 276,000 customers in Newfoundland.

Options under study

Hydro NL is currently investigating the possibility of building a new combustion turbine at Holyrood.

A project producing 150 megawatts of electricity would cost about $500 million, according to an independent report released last October.

Hydro NL is also examining the addition of an eighth 150-megawatt turbine to the existing Bay d’Espoir hydroelectric plant. This project would also cost half a billion dollars.

A new burden for taxpayers

Gary Murray admitted on Wednesday that the cost of new builds would be paid by consumers, although there could be savings once the 490 megawatt Holyrood power station is closed.

This should have been decommissioned after the construction of the Muskrat Falls dam, but the transmission lines from the hydroelectric plant are still not reliable enough.

As an electricity company, we have an obligation to look into disaster scenariosestimated Gary Murraypassing through the congress Energy NLin Saint-Jean.

He adds that the increase in thermal electricity production must be done as soon as possible.