NTPC employee injured at Jackfish, condition unknown

An employee of the NWT Power Corporation is in hospital after an incident at Yellowknife’s Jackfish diesel power plant.

The power corporation confirmed the injury following an incident earlier on Friday but provided no detail about the nature of the injury, nor what took place.

“The employee was transported to the Stanton Territorial Hospital for assessment and treatment. No further information about the condition of the employee will be provided at this time,” the power corporation stated in a news release late on Friday evening.

“The incident has been reported to the Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission and will be thoroughly investigated,” the corporation added.

The employee was not identified.

“Our thoughts are with our employee and his family. We will provide them with whatever support we can at this difficult time,” said the power corporation’s president and chief executive, Noel Voykin, in a statement.

Jackfish routinely supplies diesel power to Yellowknife in circumstances where hydro power cannot meet the city’s demand. The plant is understood to have been filling in for Snare Rapids for a month since that hydro facility failed in early February.

News of an incident at the plant comes two weeks after an employee of Yellowknife’s Aurora Ford vehicle dealership was badly hurt in an accident involving electricity. That employee is understood to be recovering.