The existence of the defects has now been confirmed by a
second source.
The blog post entitled Faulty Towers: Nalcor's Comedy (Of Errors), published on Monday, reported that the problem is associated with the
welds on a component part located at the base of each tower.
The post noted that the corrective welds would have to be
galvanized to protect them from corrosion. However, the source confirmed that
those welds are not galvanized and that the repair need not be galvanized
— which corrects my own assertion on this issue.
Some of the welds (on tower stubs/shoes only) are given what
is called a 'cold galv' during construction. This is - more or less - a spray
paint with high zinc content, useless in my own experience, but evidently the
welds are designed such that there is enough “sacrificial” steel in the embedment
making the galv unnecessary. (It’s a small point, perhaps, but I intend to be thorough.)
The source added that field repairs to correct the defects are
“potentially appropriate if executed properly”; the improperly executed
work having been the root cause of the problem.
For further clarification, the parts where the welds have
failed testing are located solely at the base where the tower attachment point
connects to what is generally called the “topsides” and the “underground works”.
The second Uncle Gnarley Blog source provides additional description
to the problem of the faulty towers.
The source states that “poor
field welds on the underground works (i.e. piles) and to the topsides (caps,
tower shoes, leg stubs) — (the) tower attachment point” were found by
inspectors.
The sources have not differentiated the two transmission lines
in detail but the problems are thought to extend to both the LIL and the LTA
(which runs from Muskrat Falls to the Upper Churchill).
To date the inspections conducted have been of the “Non-Destructive
Testing” (NDT) variety. Discussions as to the appropriate “fix” – what one of the
sources calls “a path forward” - are still ongoing. Final decisions on just how
many of the welds are totally unacceptable have not been made but it is
expected that a high percentage of them will be found unacceptable.
That this problem is under ACTIVE review and examination by Nalcor
officials and inspectors is, in part, what makes Nalcor’s press statement,
released on Monday, incredulous.
The release stated that “there are no structural
integrity or safety issues with any of the towers.” In the House of Assembly the Minister of Natural Resources reiterated - repetitively - Nalcor's claim. The Telegram quoted her saying: "that means there's no cost implications, no time or schedule implications, and no safety implications"
The sheer quantity and geographical spread of
the defective welds, as well as the number of decisions still in the making –
taken together – is what makes Nalcor’s (and the Minister's) claims laughable.
Nalcor has a long history of deception regarding the Muskrat
Falls project. The Minister is warned that she may have been poorly briefed.
The Uncle Gnarley Blog’s second source confirms that the
problem extends to roughly 330 locations
on HVdc (direct current TL) and about 50 locations on the HVac (alternating
current TL) - all having some amount of topside welding issues.
The source states that the inspection process on the towers is
not an entirely recent activity and that it has been in progress since August,
but that the size of the problem has become more apparent over the past couple
of months. A recent VOCM story reported that 3,224 towers constitute the LIL.
The Uncle Gnarley Blog source states that verifying the welding
and getting to the locations — especially where winter access only was
constructed — is the biggest problem. The source suggests that the problem is
spread over a “pretty big area.”
“Welding quality has been a big issue on the
lines,” the source added.
Nalcor asserts that, during the handover and inspection
process, “it is not uncommon for items to be identified for the contractor to
correct.”
That might normally be the case; but on a
number approaching roughly 400? When a time period of several months will be required for the repair?
Again, the Nalcor Press Release states "there is no cost or schedule impact (of the items identified for repair) on the transmission
project", in other words the repairs
are all on the contractor’s dime. Duly noted; we will want to hold Nalcor to that undertaking.
That said, it is pure fantasy for Nalcor to suggest that such
a large number of deficient tower foundations do not constitute “structural
integrity or safety issues” or that “there is no cost or schedule impact on the
transmission project,” as the Nalcor Release asserted. Its as if Nalcor management doesn't know what is going on in the field.
Nalcor long ago
exhausted the public's patience and their trust as the project whistles at a $12.7
billion capital cost, 17 cent per kWh power to the ratepayer, coupled with
“rate mitigation” costs exceeding $500 million annually.
Nalcor has shrouded
the Muskrat Falls project in a litany of falsifications layered with a cloud of
meaningless information dumps. Blogs like Uncle Gnarley have tried to cut
through this wall of obfuscation. Luckily some ethical sources, refusing to be
intimidated by Nalcor threats and muffling, have provided enormous help to the
Blog in shining some light on this financial, management and policy debacle.
Nalcor simply cannot
be believed, including on this issue on which two sources — not just one — have
now confirmed the extent of the problems on the LIL/LTA.
In addition, it is clear that the Minister, Siobhan
Coady, was misinformed by Nalcor and that she has shared that misinformation with the House of Assembly and the public. In parroting the 'Nalcor line', however, she has succeeded only in heightening the public's fears as to the issues of safety and
Nalcor's ability to manage quality control on the project.
The Premier, too, might ask Nalcor why they hid the problem from the Muskrat Falls Oversight Committee, its Report to September 30, released just a few days ago, predictably affirming everything is fine on the MF project.
Still, Coady having
accepted Nalcor’s version of the truth, must now do the only honourable
thing: she must immediately release
to the House of Assembly and to the public the “independent third-party
inspection” reports to which Nalcor lays claim.
It is time that
the public finally hears the truth from the Minister and Nalcor about those faulty towers.
