Prince Edward Island Fishermen's Assoc.

Interconnection Upgrade Project Marine Update – April 2017

Spring Overview

The Project received permission to commence work for the Spring Cable Protection Phase in late March 2017. In early April when ice levels in the Strait cleared, work commenced on the marine portion of the Interconnection Upgrade Project.

Rip Rap Shoreline Protection was completed for all the near-shore trenching of the cables to reduce the chances of ice damage to the cables and coastal erosion. Most of the remaining work in the Strait is in the offshore in water depths greater than 8 metres. The focus has been the burial of the cables in the remaining (approximately) 20 kilometres, and some trench backfilling will be completed in the near shore of PEI and New Brunswick to finish the Cable Protection Phase. The modifications made over the winter on the Trenching Remotely Operated Vehicle (or TROV) have been working well. These modifications include modified teeth on the cutting chain to allow for quicker replacement, additional plates welded to the cutting chain to improve removal of loose material during cutting, optimized water flow through discharge hoses, and improved design for jetting swords - they have been working well. The modified chain cutter TROV followed by one or two TROV Jetting Passes to date trenched to the required depths and buried the cables successfully. In early April, the crew/vessel moved around the ice in the Strait to complete the work plan. The ice has now cleared from the Strait and should not have any further impacts on the project. There have been some equipment breakdowns during this Period, but the crew has been able to fix problems in efficient timeframes.

2017 Short Term Restriction Zone and Fishers Fund

Transport Canada has established a safety zone of 500 metres around the Isaac Newton Cable Laying Vessel. Maritime Electric representatives are monitoring and checking daily and confirming the specifications are met to bury and protect the cables. Approximately 60% of the work is completed on the cables in the marine environment. The Project applied to DFO for a short term fishing restriction for this year for a zone in SFA 22 for this year only. Once the cables are buried, LS Cable will check to confirm that cables have been covered to specifications and will complete a series of tests and surveys. There will be no long term fishing restrictions over the cables and the current requested restriction zone is a short term restriction for SFA 22 for 2017 scallop fishing season only. The proposed restriction zone will commence May 1, 2017 and extend to the end of the scallop fishing season on June 3, 2017. As requested by the fishers, buoys will also mark the short term restriction zone. The zone is approximately 500 metres around the Cable work site.

LS Cable has established a fishers fund of $500,000 plus administration fees for First Nations and fishers who have scallop licenses in SFA 22 and the administration of the fund details are being finalized. The fund is set up in trust currently in PEI with Maritime Electric’s lawyer.

Project Schedule

The Marine work for the Project will be completed this Spring and the revised Construction Schedule is noted below. Restoration and landscaping of both on-land Project sites are underway. The Energization Ceremony for the cables will occur this summer and the date is yet to be finalized.

Project Milestone Calendar

Milestone	Timeline	Installation Construction Method
Pre Trenching for Cable	May – July 2016 Out of the Strait before Lobster Season	In-Shore (Borden-Carleton and Cape Tormentine)
Cape Tormentine Riser Station Construction	July 2016 – December 2016	On-Land (New Brunswick)
Borden-Carleton Substation Construction	May 2016 – December 2016	On-Land (Prince Edward Island)
Transmission Line Clearing – Melrose to Cape Tormentine	August - December 2016	On-Land (New Brunswick)
Cable delivery to the Northumberland Strait & Cable Installation Commencement	October 2016	Marine (The Northumberland Strait)
Cable # 3 Installation	October 2016 – December 2016	On-Land & Marine
Cable # 4 Installation	October 2016 – December 2016	On-Land & Marine
Testing, Commissioning	January 2017	On-Land
Transmission Line L1244 Clearing	January 2017 – February 2017	On-Land (New Brunswick)
Transmission Line L1244 Construction	February 2017 – May 2017	On-Land (New Brunswick)
Cable Mechanical Protection	April – June 3, 2017 *SFA 22 Proposed Restriction Zone May 1 – June 3, 2017	Marine
Overall Project Completion & Energization Ceremony	Spring 2017 TBD	On-Land & Marine

Updated April 25, 2017

Top-Left – Isaac Newton in Charlottetown Harbour in early January 2017; TROV on board Isaac Newton;

TROV with chain cutter arm; TROV in mini-mass flow excavator mode

Top-Left – Borden-Carleton Substation as of January 2017; Borden-Carleton Rip Rap Wall along the shore-line; Bottom– Isaac Newton in the Northumberland Strait during the cable pull-in procedure

Top-Left – Starfish performing backfilling in Cape Tormentine; Cape Tormentine site as of January 2017; Transmission line work along the Cape Tormentine to Melrose section; Cape Tormentine Rip Rap wall

KP 14.000 Cable 4 Trencher on Deck ROV being lowered to survey cable