The Taltson hydro plant that powers South Slave communities is back in operation, almost two years after being taken offline for work that was supposed to take six months.
The NWT Power Corporation announced the hydro system’s return to functionality on Tuesday.
The final cost of the work is now expected to be more than $115 million, up from an initial budget of around $70 million. A federal grant of $17.8 million will bring that sum down to about $98 million that NTPC – and its ratepayers – must cover.
Taltson was shut down in May 2023 for replacement of a turbine and generator said to have reached the end of their lives. The hydro plant was built in 1965 and has served the entire South Slave since 1986.
Initially, NTPC hoped to have Taltson back up and running with new parts by October 2023.
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Instead, a series of delays and problems kept the plant offline until testing began in recent weeks. Meanwhile, a combination of low water levels throughout the drought-hit NWT and Taltson’s absence sent diesel use in the territory soaring.
Trouble at Taltson began when a wildfire struck the site during the devastating summer of 2023, several months into the overhaul. A series of technical issues followed, such as a “significant alignment issue” that the power corporation said experts spent months trying to figure out.
“The refurbished hydro facility is once again providing primary power to Fort Smith, Fort Resolution, Hay River, Enterprise and Kátł’odeeche First Nation,” NTPC announced on Tuesday.
Even now, the power corporation said, an “interim solution to technical issues that were identified earlier this year” is in place to allow Taltson’s return.
Later this summer, NTPC will have to take the plant offline again “for a brief period to install the permanent solution.”
The final cost of the project includes about $70 million in overhaul work and “approximately $45 million in fuel and other operational costs required to keep the lights in the South Slave on while Taltson Hydro was offline,” NTPC stated.
