The 136 kW generating unit will be swapped with a 150 kW machine. The current unit is almost 30 years old and is considered by specialists to be at the end of its useful life.
A new diesel engine will replace the current one in the 200 kW generating unit which is nearly 15 years old. Changing the diesel engine will increase its overall efficiency.
Work will begin on the modifications this year. However, Hydro expects to install the new equipment and complete the upgrades during the summer of 2011.
These improvements will increase the generating capacity of the plant, ensuring the reliability of the electrical supply to the town of Francois. The enhancement will also cause 13,600 litres of gas to be saved per year, according to the corporation.
Guy Wires
Hydro is also investing $300,000 to replace guy wires on transmission line that runs between Doyles and Grand Bay. Transmission poles are anchored to the ground with steel guy wires, which provide structural support to the transmission structures.
Ms. Wiseman said the guy wires need to be replaced due to excessive wear resulting from extreme wind exposure. The transmission line was constructed close to 40 years ago. Majority of guy wires are still original, reaching end of useful life.
Work is scheduled for completion during week of Sept. 13 and will take around 5-7 days.
She said several outages of short duration are required to complete work safely. Mobile unit comes in to play to avoid significant outages
In addition to guy wire replacement, 11 transmission poles will be replaced that were identified in 2009 by Hydro's Wood Pole Line Management Program as needing to be replaced. A contractor will do that work.
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