Minnesota Power is Moving Forward with Flood Repairs to Strengthen Renewable Resource Asset for the Next Hundred Years
June 18 2013 - 1:33PM
Business Wire
Minnesota Power, a division of ALLETE Inc. (NYSE: ALE), said
today it expects to have its largest hydro station, which has been
out of commission due to flooding one year ago, partially back in
operation by the end of this year and fully restored in 2014.
Major repairs are underway at the company’s Thomson Hydro
Station on the lower St. Louis River in Jay Cooke Park. The
106-year-old hydroelectric plant has been out of service since June
20, 2012, after as much as 10 inches of rain fell in the region,
causing flash floods in some areas and longer-term flooding in
others.
“The significance of this localized event was striking,” said
Minnesota Power Chief Operating Officer Brad Oachs. “We saw peak
river flows of 56,000 cubic feet per second which was 40 percent
above previous record flows. Our employees performed admirably
under extremely challenging circumstances.”
While the integrity of the company’s hydro dams was maintained
during the unprecedented event, the sheer volume of water and speed
at which the flow of the river changed flooded the six turbines at
Thomson, overtopped the Thomson reservoir and breached a portion of
an earthen dike at the forebay, a small reservoir that feeds water
into the Thomson power station. The flood washed out roads and
caused mudslides in Jay Cooke State Park, limiting access to the
powerhouse by foot or on all-terrain vehicles for months.
Minnesota Power operates five reservoirs and four hydro stations
along the St. Louis River: Knife Falls, Scanlon, Thomson and Fond
du Lac. The Thomson facility, capable of generating 72 megawatts,
is the largest hydro facility in the state of Minnesota and an
important part of the company’s EnergyForward strategy,
which calls for a balanced, less carbon-intensive energy
portfolio.
“Thomson is the very heart of our hydro system and has served
our customers with low-cost renewable energy for more than 100
years,” Oachs said. “Investing in repairs and other improvements to
strengthen the system against future flood events will position
Thomson as a reliable and cost effective emission free resource for
the next 100 years.”
Minnesota Power has been working closely for the past year with
the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the agency
responsible for dam safety oversight, and an independent consulting
board of engineers on assessing impacts of the June 2012 flood,
planning and design development to restore the forebay and other
improvements to the hydro system. The company has filed with FERC a
comprehensive report of how its employees and systems performed
during the June 2012 event.
Repairs to the forebay are estimated at $25 million. In addition
to the forebay work, the company is investing about $35 million in
improvements to harden the system against future flooding and
maintenance and rehabilitation of facilities that would have
required extended outages within the next several years.
Minnesota Power expects to file a request with the MPUC in 2013
for cost recovery of capital expenditures related to the
restoration and repair of the Thomson facility and other related
St. Louis River hydro system projects.
A major component of the forebay reconstruction is expected to
get underway in August. Sheets of steel will be placed into the
ground to reinforce almost 3,000 feet of rebuilt earthen
embankment. A new permanent concrete spillway also will be
installed at the breach site. Minnesota Power is also working
closely with the Minnesota Department of Transportation, Carlton
County, Jay Cooke State Park and local elected officials to
minimize effects construction will have on area residents and the
park and to assist the park in rebuilding trails damaged in the
area.
Minnesota Power provides electric service within a
26,000-square-mile area in northeastern Minnesota, supporting
comfort, security and quality of life for 143,000 customers, 16
municipalities and some of the largest industrial customers in the
United States. More information can be found at
www.mnpower.com.
The statements contained in this release and statements that
ALLETE may make orally in connection with this release that are not
historical facts, are forward-looking statements. Actual results
may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking
statements. These forward-looking statements involve risks and
uncertainties and investors are directed to the risks discussed in
documents filed by ALLETE with the Securities and Exchange
Commission.
Minnesota Power/ALLETEAmy Rutledge, 218-723-7400Manager -
Corporate Communicationsarutledge@mnpower.com
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