Powering a massive hydro dam construction

Up in the wilderness of Manitoba, an ambitious project was underway to build the first of three hydroelectric dams that would supply power to utilities in both Canada and the US.

First, the utility needed the installation, supply and delivery of prime power for the workers’ accommodation and the construction sites. That’s a lot of temporary power. And given that all activities, from construction to cooking, relied on that power there was no room for outages. It had to be consistent, it had to be reliable and it had to be mobile.

Our technicians knew it was critical that the power supply never faltered, so they designed a package that provided a high level of redundancy. The system was designed for load increases and possible equipment failure, and the units chosen for their low emissions and capacity to stand up to rigorous winter conditions. The low loads also provided considerable fuel cost savings.

The system was supported by an on-site technician, for 24/7 maintenance and repair, and an Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S) expert who developed a safety plan that included on-site safety training and emergency and evacuation procedures.

We built a comprehensive top-of-the-range power system that provided reliable, constant power to construction areas and campsites, allowing our customer to keep up with project schedules and budgets. There was minimal disruption, and production downtime was negligible. Our compliant EH&S plan ticked all the boxes to operate under strict Canadian government environmental regulations. Given that Canadian environmental regulations are some of the toughest in the industry, and the size and scope of the project was massive, this was no small achievement.