Taltson Hydro is back in service.
 
Located 64 kilometers north of Fort Smith on the Taltson River in the Northwest Territories, the 18-MW plant with the Northwest Territories Power Corp. provides power to Fort Smith, Hay River, Hay River Reserve, Fort Resolution and Enterprise.
 
Last fall, from Sept. 9 to 18, 2009, Taltson underwent an annual scheduled maintenance shutdown. During start-up testing on Sept. 18, inordinately high bearing temperatures were recorded. The unit was shut down. Further inspection determined the thrust bearing at the head of the turbine (generator) had failed rendering the unit inoperable. The back-up bearing was installed to bring the unit back in service.

NTPC staff took many steps over the next several days to bring the unit back to service as quickly as possible.
 
The original equipment manufacturer was flown to site over the weekend to assess the damage and assist in developing a restoration plan. Within 48 hours, the manufacturer had dispatched five staff to remove the bearing.  NTPC located and dispatched specialized scaffolding equipment to the site and located an industrial facility that could repair the bearing. They company released a press release saying they were back online at the beginning of November 2009.

“A number of people worked day and night until all the resources needed were in place. Their commitment to keep the lights on and keep equipment serving our customers is second to none,” said Brian Willows, chief operating officer.  

Customers were served by diesel generation while repairs took place.
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