Muskrat Falls project delayed again by software glitches

It’s a tragic tale, with no end in sight

Once upon a time there was a Pineclad Kingdom.

The people there were generally happy, provided they had food to eat, decent jobs, roofs over their heads, a scattered game of hockey at the stadium and — oh yes — a thriving arts community.

But then one day the people were told that they should not be so happy; that they should be concerned about the future, as there was a power crunch coming.

Oil and gas boom times were spurring the economy, at least in the St. John’s metro area, and businesses and homes were springing up that all needed electric heat. The Pine-clad Kingdom would have to come up with a new way to generate electricity to meet the demand.

The leaders came up with an idea to build a hydroelectric development at Muskrat Falls in Labrador. In the year 2013, they issued a “fact sheet” to the people to explain what they had in mind.

It was called “The Power is in Our Hands,” which made the people think it meant power in everyone’s hands collectively, but of course the power was actually in the hands of the leaders and the high-ranking folk at the energy company, Nalcor.

“Government is providing this information to every household in Newfoundland and Labrador,” the fact sheet stated, using the simplest possible language for fear the people of the kingdom would not understand the massive undertaking.

“Our aim is to help you understand the project and the reasons Nalcor Energy has concluded that Muskrat Falls is the lowest-cost option for meeting our energy needs.…

“Government’s commitment to the people of our province is that the decision we make at the end of the day will be one that is truly in the best interest of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.”

The fact sheet sounded good, but we now know its promised happy ending did not come true. The decision would turn out not to be in the best interests of the people.

Muskrat Falls was a boondoggle, with cost overruns, multiple delays, a lack of due diligence and too many eyes on the mega-project prize.

But whenever anyone in the Pineclad Kingdom expressed doubts or concerns about the project, or suggested there might be a better way, the leaders shut them down and dismissed them as naysayers. Because, you see, the leaders and their energy company had their hearts set on Muskrat Falls.

Along the way, the cost of the project went from $6.2 billion to more than $13 billion, and it isn’t fully functioning yet.

But wait — there’s more.

On Oct. 7, Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro wrote to the Public Utilities Board to say there has been further delays in the Labrador Island Link portion of the project, due to bugs in the software from GE Canada. Until these bugs are fully identified and eradicated, the software needed to fully power the Labrador Island Link cannot be put to use.

As a result, the report from Hydro says, “the overall project completion date of November 26, 2021, is not achievable.”

There’s no revised date as of yet. And so, the Labrador Island Link is not working at full power and cannot be commissioned.

Muskrat Falls is now four years behind its originally forecasted completion date. Which means ratepayers will be paying all those financing costs, and the mounting interest, for even longer than we thought.

As it turns out, there was much about Muskrat Falls that was “not achievable.”

Remember that fact sheet? It said: “The development of Muskrat Falls will set the stage for Newfoundland and Labrador to manage its own energy and economic future without relying on others to meet our power needs.”

In fact, the Pine-clad Kingdom had to go to its federal overseer for help in financing its power project, and now there is $5.2-billion plan to help keep electricity rates stable if Muskrat Falls is ever finally complete.

The fact sheet also said to learn more about Muskrat Falls, call a tollfree number.

But the line just rings and rings, and no one answers.