Authors: R. Woolgar (Hatch), G. Poole (Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro)
Canadian Society of Civil Engineers, June 2009
Abstract
Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro (Hydro) is a Crown Corporation and a subsidiary of Nalcor
Energy. Committed to operational excellence, Hydro is dedicated to delivering safe, reliable, least-cost
power to industrial, utility and over 35,000 direct customers in rural Newfoundland and Labrador. Hydro’s
installed generating capacity in 2007 was 1,654 MW, of which 58 percent is hydroelectric generation.
Hydro’s power generating assets consist of nine hydroelectric plants, one oil-fired plant, four gas turbines,
26 diesel plants, and thousands of kilometres of transmission and distribution lines. Every year, Hydro
generates and transmits over 80 per cent of the electrical energy consumed by Newfoundlanders and
Labradorians. On the island of Newfoundland, the system is comprised of more than 80 dykes, dams and
hydraulic structures with the majority of structures being of earth and rockfill construction. These are
located throughout the south/ central part of the province up to the Northern Peninsula. Structures range
in height from one metre to 63 metres and in age from five to 45 years, with the longest structure being
eight kilometres. Hydro employs a Dam Safety Management System to ensure the safety of all
structures. A part of this system is conducting Dam Safety Reviews and in 2008 a Dam Safety Review
was conducted for Long Pond Reservoir.
