Why jammed condensers and delayed software are causing headaches at Nalcor

More details have emerged about a confluence of problems that are hindering efforts to integrate the new Labrador-Island Link (LIL) into Newfoundland's powergrid, and it's just the latest blow to an already troubled hydroelectric project.

Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro, a subsidiary of Nalcor Energy, detailed some of the problems recently in a pair of eye-opening letters to the province's energy regulator, known as the PUB.

It mentions things like repeated delays with software,jammed or vibrating synchronous condensers and a "potentially serious" converter station issue.

The issues are not new, but the letters makeit clear that schedulingdelays and unexplained technical issues are creating quite a few headaches for a project that is already years behind schedule and billions over budget.

This will likely mean an extended reliance on the oil-burning power generating station at Holyrood one of the province's biggest emitters of greenhouse gases.

• Nalcor standing by GE, despite serious concerns about Muskrat transmission

What's more, Nalcor is still refusing to turn over third-party reports to the PUB from a consultant hired by Nalcor to monitor and report on the LIL's performance, saying the request for the reports is"under legal review."

That's despite an insistence from the PUB that the reports be "immediately provided to the board and its consultants."

In a statement, Nalcorsays contractual agreements mean"we are prohibited from providing copies of the reports to external parties."

However, a spokesperson says Nalcor has been providing the PUB and its consultant, Liberty, with briefings of information contained in the oversight reports.

"We will continue to provide Liberty with information regarding the issues on LIL while maintaining compliance with our legal obligations," a Nalcor statement reads.

Software now expected in January

It's all spelled out in Nov. 29 and Dec. 13 letters to the PUB from Geoffrey Young, corporate secretary and general counsel at NL Hydro.

Young informed the board that the delivery of interim computer software used to operate the new 1,100-kilometre power line from Muskrat Falls to Soldiers Pond is again delayed, and won't be available from General Electric until Jan. 19. That's a month later than planned, andthe latest in a series of delays as GE struggles to develop what's called control and protection software for the LIL.

But Young said delivery of the final software in June 2020 "remains the current schedule."

"Although the final date for full functionality of the software has not changed, the schedule risk to the interim software is high," Young wrote.

Consultants not optimistic

So that means the likelihood of displacing Holyrood power with electricity from the Upper Churchill or the new Muskrat Falls station this winter is growing increasingly remote. That's in line with what Liberty the consultants for the PUB had been forecasting.

"Not only will the Labrador Island Link (LIL) that connects Muskrat Falls generation to the Island Interconnected System (IIS) fail to enter service this winter, but its operation for the next one is now becoming less certain," Liberty wrote in a report to the PUB last month.

And it's clear from Young's letters that Hydro is struggling to determine the root cause of some serious problems at the Soldiers Pond switchyard.

The sprawling switchyard on Newfoundland's Avalon Peninsulais where the direct current (DC) power from Labrador is converted to alternating current (AC) electricity and distributed throughout the island's power grid.

It's also the location of three synchronous condensers, which help maintain system stability and keep voltages at specified levels. At least two of the three condensers must be available when the power line is operating at peak capacity.

However, one of the condensers experienced "unacceptable vibration levels"during testing, while the other two units "have not been successfully rotated."

So far, Nalcor and its contractors have not been able to pinpoint the problem for the vibrations and the jamming, which means the plan to have all three condensers commissioned by next spring is now in doubt.

"Pending the outcome of the root cause investigations and resolution of the issues, there is risk that the schedule may extend beyond May 2020," Young wrote.

Since the condensers are not required for commissioning the LIL at low power, Young said the condensers at"not currently on the critical path" in the transition to operations for the Lower Churchill Project.

• Muskrat Falls power this winter? Nalcor CEO updates on project's software struggles

Nalcor energized one of two lines on the LIL in the winter of 2018 in order to import up to 100 megawatts of recall power from the Upper Churchill, saving tens of millions in oil costs at Holyrood.

But creating the specialized software needed to operate both lines, known as bipole, is posing a much greater challenge, and Nalcor has admitted to having a backup plan in case GE is unable to meet its contractual commitment.

Nalcor CEO Stan Marshall has said he expects the first of four turbines at Muskrat to be ready to deliver electricity early in 2020, with full commercial power 824 megawatts late next year.

Marshall also told reporters recently that he expects electricity "at varying levels" to be delivered to Newfoundland over the LIL this winter.

A Nalcor spokespersontold CBCNews this plan has not changed.

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