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Missing power generators starting to materialize

Generators the Northwest Territories Power Corporation ordered to replace aging infrastructure at its Jackfish power plant in 2015 are expected to arrive in Yellowknife soon – nearly two years behind schedule.

At least, some of them are.

“As of today, three of the units are in factory acceptance testing,” said Scott Spencer, chief technical officer at the power corp., on Oct. 2. “Once the factory acceptance test is complete, it will be loaded and shipped to Yellowknife where we have all of our installation ready to place them onto their pads and connect them into the system.”

He said he expected the three generators would be ready in “the next few weeks.”

Components for two more generators are in California company Virdi Power’s shop and ready for assembly, Spencer added, although he did not provide a timeline for their arrival.

Given the current delays with the first three generators, he said he has a hard time believing the deadline Virdi Power is now giving NTPC for the remaining two units, although he is confident they will arrive.

The missing generators have been a point of debate in the NWT legislative assembly since March, when it was discovered they still had yet to appear.

NTPC ordered the units in May 2015 and expected them to arrive that November, but Spencer said the California company encountered challenges that slowed production, such as flooding in its shop.

Virdi Power is also “meticulous” in its work, which added to the delays, he said.

Spencer said the reason NTPC chose Virdi Power for the project was because its products were known to be high quality.

Last week, Yellowknife North MLA Cory Vanthuyne wanted answers about where the generators are and how much money the delays are costing NWT residents – questions he has been asking on a regular basis in the house.

NTPC has had to rent three mobile generators for the Jackfish power plant while awaiting the arrival of the new generators from California, according to a document Louis Sebert, the minister responsible for the power corp., tabled in the legislative assembly on March 10,

“The total paid to the mobile unit rental company will be approximately $500,000,” the document said at the time. “However, those costs will be covered by Virdi Power Incorporated and will not impact customer rates.”

The total cost of renting those units is now higher than $500,000, said Spencer, although he would not provide the total cost to date as the final cost will depend on when the new generators arrive from California.

He did say NTPC is paying a monthly fee and that Virdi has signed an agreement to cover the expense.

“Hopefully the incurred costs haven’t crossed over the actual cost of the contract,” said Vanthuyne, speaking about the rental generators. “That means Virdi Power then is paying us. That would turn into a whole different ball of wax.”

Word from NTPC of the generators’ impending arrival comes just weeks after Minister Sebert said in the legislative assembly that the generators may simply need to be written off.

However, his tone changed last week when he told MLAs work on the generators was “moving ahead” and he hoped to be able to say in the next few weeks that the generators had arrived.

Yellowknifer requested an explanation from the minister about the change in rationale, but the GNWT did not respond by press time.

“As I said in the house on October 3 when I advised members of final inspections on the three generators nearing completion, I am more optimistic than I have been previously when discussing the issue,” said Sebert in a statement to Yellowknifer. “I am pleased with the work undertaken by NTPC staff on managing this file.”

Spencer said NTPC has weighed its options to make sure that it’s making a decision about the contract that’s best for ratepayers.

“Discussions around cancelling the contract – all these have been considered by NTPC as part of our risk management,” he said. “It’s in the best interest of NTPC and its customers to wait and work with Virdi to deliver these units successfully and not rashly make any decisions about cancellation.”

A representative at Virdi Power stated over the phone that the person in charge of the project was not available to speak to Yellowknifer before press time.