Natural Resources
June 16, 2017

Muskrat Falls Project Oversight Committee Releases Quarterly Report in New Format

Today, the Muskrat Falls Project Oversight Committee released its report which provides cost and schedule information up to March 31, 2017.

The quarterly report is provided in a new format designed to increase the amount of project information available in an easier to review format. This approach is in keeping with the committee’s decision to commence releasing monthly reports that focus on monthly project data as it is received and reviewed by the committee. August 2016 to February 2017 monthly data is available on the committee website at www.gov.nl.ca/mfoversight/reports/ 

Nalcor will provide a cost and schedule update in June 2017. Analysis of that update will be provided in the next oversight committee quarterly report.

This report is the first for the strengthened Muskrat Falls Project Oversight Committee, which had four new members appointed to it in April 2017. The committee has a wealth of knowledge and experience in such areas as engineering, economics, corporate governance, finance and business management.

Quote
“As a government, we have consistently questioned the decision-making process of the previous administration on this project. Knowing why decisions were made as they were, what assumptions were used to justify the project, and why costs were not accurate must be clearly understood. The knowledge and expertise of the strengthened oversight committee further supports our commitment to increased accountability and transparency of the Muskrat Falls Project.”
Honourable Siobhan Coady
Minister of Natural Resources

- 30 -

Learn More
Information on the Muskrat Falls Project Oversight Committee is available online:

Media contact
Chrysta Collins
Natural Resources
709-729-5777, 690-4436
chrystacollins@gov.nl.ca

BACKGROUNDER

Muskrat Falls Project Oversight Committee
Quarterly Report (Period Ending March 2017)

In keeping with previous quarterly reports, the report released today provides details on costs incurred, changes in project milestone schedule, the status of manufacturing contracts, major contracts yet to be awarded and other oversight activities to the end of March 2017.

New independent members were also added to the oversight committee in April 2017.

The committee received and analyzed information that was made available by the project. The committee identified risk and issues and followed up with Nalcor to obtain more detail and explanation.

The quarterly report released today includes costs related to the project amendment agreement with Astaldi in December 2016 for the intake, powerhouse, spillway, and transition dams. The agreement added $270 million to the project cost in addition to the $450 million in Nalcor’s June 2016 update.

A number of issues have been identified which could have an impact on project cost and schedule, most specifically issues including liens and insurance claims, contractor management, and quality control and assurance. The committee will continue to follow up and report on these and any new risks that are identified.

As of the end of March 2017, Nalcor reported that:

  • Project to date incurred costs were $6.505 billion not including interest and financing charges while committed costs were $8.105 billion. Contingency allocation of the available contingency budget was $140 million.
  • Overall construction progress is 70.7 per cent and is measured against the June 2016 project capital budget re-baseline planned progress of 71.9 per cent.
  • Muskrat Falls Generation construction progress is 61.4 per cent versus 63.2 per cent planned. The cumulative progress continues to trend behind the plan.
  • The Labrador Transmission Assets construction progress is at 92.3 per cent versus 97.5 per cent planned.
  • The Labrador Island Transmission link construction progress is 75.8 per cent versus 75.4 planned.

2017 06 16                             12:00 p.m.