Hydro project commissioning delayed after electrical testing needs identified

At the May 18 meeting, staff updated the committee on the Stone Street hydro project: mechanical installation of two turbines is complete, but commissioning cannot finish until additional electrical testing is completed.

A staff member said the device to collect data on Stone Street had arrived and will be deployed in the coming days to gather several months of operating data. During pre-commissioning the team discovered the capacitor bank and certain speed-sensor heads need further testing and possible adjustments. Staff have obtained a proposal for specialized electrical testing and will schedule the testing before returning NorCAN and Hydro ECI to complete commissioning.

Committee members asked whether a third turbine would be installed; staff said units one and two will be evaluated once commissioning is finished and then the city will determine timing for unit three. The staff member described the issue as a “roadblock” that the team is working through and emphasized the testing is important to ensure proper operation of the PLC and sensors before full commissioning.

The committee did not take action beyond receiving the update; staff will proceed with the additional electrical testing and later report commissioning results and recommendations about unit three.