Natural Resources
Municipal and Intergovernmental Affairs
January 6, 2014
Public Advisory: Update Provided on Electrical Power Outage
Officials with the Provincial Government continue to closely monitor the ongoing power disruption and are assisting residents and communities as necessary.
“I want to thank all residents for their continued patience and cooperation during this challenging situation,” said the Honourable Kathy Dunderdale, Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador. "I understand the frustration many residents have experienced over the past several days and appreciate the measures being taken to limit power usage. People across our province have heeded our call for conservation and those efforts are making a very real difference as Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro and Newfoundland Power work to restore power to everyone. I want to thank all of those hard working employees at both our utilities for their restoration efforts and their commitment to ensure public safety.”
As of midday Monday, two units are currently operating at the Holyrood Thermal Generation Station. The facility is operating at 40 to 45 per cent capacity with Unit 1 currently off and Unit 3 operating at partial generation. Unit 1 has been offline since the trip of the system on Saturday morning. Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro is currently working on this unit to bring it back into service as safely and quickly as possible.
“Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro and Newfoundland Power are working to ensure customers have electricity service and I want to thank all those workers for their efforts,” said the Honourable Derrick Dalley, Minister of Natural Resources. “I encourage residents to listen for updates and to take the necessary safety precautions and continue energy conservation until the system returns to capacity.”
There are currently less than 5,000 customers without power. Newfoundland
and Labrador Hydro has had enough generation to supply Newfoundland Power so
that rotating outages are not currently ongoing; however, these may begin
again during the next period of peak usage. Information from both utilities
can be found at www.nlh.nl.ca
and
www.newfoundlandpower.com
.
“We are continuing to monitor the situation, along with our emergency partners across the province,” said the Honourable Steve Kent, Minister Responsible for Fire and Emergency Services-Newfoundland and Labrador. “We are working with communities to help to ensure that all residents and businesses are following the appropriate fire safety and emergency preparedness practices, and working to conserve electricity wherever possible.”
Updates will continue to be made as they become available by the Provincial Government via news release and social media.
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Media contacts:
| Jennifer Tulk Director of Communications Office of the Premier 709-729-3960 jennifertulk@gov.nl.ca |
Tracey Boland Press Secretary Office of the Premier 709-729-4304, 697-3128 TraceyBoland@gov.nl.ca |
Diana Quinton Director of Communications Department of Natural Resources 709-729-5282, 631-8155 dianaquinton@gov.nl.ca |
Bradley Power Public Relations Specialist Fire and Emergency Services-Newfoundland and Labrador 709-729-0857, 699-5707 bradleypower@gov.nl.ca |
2014 01 06 4:50 p.m.