May 1, 2017
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
Top-Left – TROV Jetting
Swords; Diver’s photo of cable during inspection; TROV in Cutting Mode on Deck
of Isaac Newton;
WROV being launched; Support
Vessel conducting sediment surveys; Sediment Plume during Jetting Operations;
Type of Buoy to be used to
mark exclusion zone
Kim Griffin
Manager of Corporate Communications &
Public Affairs
Official Corporate Spokesperson
Maritime Electric Company Limited
PO Box 1328, 180 Kent Street
Charlottetown, PE
C1A 7N2
griffinkm@maritimeelectric.com
T 902.629.3683
F 902.629.3665
Telephone: (902) 566-4050
Fax: 902-368-3748
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