N.L. Hydro crosses finish line on work to commission Labrador-Island Link

Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro says work and testing to commission the Labrador-Island Link, which will carry electricityfrom Muskrat Falls in Labrador to Newfoundland and beyond, has now been completed.

The second and final 700-megawatt test of the Labrador-IslandLink (LIL) finished successfully earlier this month. N.L. Hydro CEO Jennifer Williams said the system performed as expected.

"The testing that we just concluded considers this project now commissioned," Williams told reporters Wednesday.

"It's a huge moment. A moment that I know the whole province has been waiting for for quite some time. I literally was crying in Dominion parking lot this weekend, you know, when this was all happening. It's a really big deal."

The project's commissioning isn't official yet, as documentation needs to be finished with the federal government to determine an official commission date. Williams says that could happen in the next couple of weeks to months.

Work also needs to be done to finish the province's rate mitigation plan, with electricity bills expected to go up to help pay for the Muskrat Falls project.

"That will take us another few months, I believe, to get concluded, and then we will have more to say about that," she said.

Williams says Hydro's next general rate application likely won't happen until 2024, but customers will still see the regular rate update that happens each July 1.

A cost update on the project which is billions over budget also couldn't be shared without the commission date being known, Williams said.

Construction of the1,100-kilometre, high-voltage transmission linebegan in 2014.The LIL faced several hurdles with its software leading up to the completion of the project, which caused widespread power outages during testing.

Williams says the completed tests giveher confidence in the softwarebuta new version of it will come in to address issues that could be safely postponed duringtesting.

"We always knew we'd have to get another version of software. But to consider this project commissioned, I'm very confident in the software that we have," she said.

Leading up to the final tests, power has already been moving through the LIL, which has delivered power to Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. Tests were completed at a capacity of 700 megawatts, Williams said, but they will be testing up to 900 megawatts in the future.

She says the link will serve as a key tool in the distribution of cleaner energy in Newfoundland in Labrador.

"We weren't waiting for the LIL in order to supply power. But what it does, it's another really big important piece in our dispatch of how we supply power," she said.

Williams says the project will also cut down on the dependence for electricity to come from the Holyroodgenerating station, which she says only contributes between10 and 15 per cent of electricity demand in the province.

Williams said the link's completion is also a big moment for those working on the project, as they've gone through trials and tribulations in their work over the years.

"The people here have been crapped on a lot," an emotional Williams said.

"Do it to me, do not do it to them. But it happens all the time. And it really bothers me. This weekend, I hope the weight was lifted a bit for those folks."

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