Final commissioning of the plagued Muskrat Falls and Lower Churchill Project has been delayed again.
The milestone was scheduled for November, which was pushed back to this March, but has now been delayed until May 31.
That’s the new date revealed in a January 14 update letter from Hydro to the Public Utilities Board, which was posted online but not yet publicly announced by the utility.
Hydro states GE’s latest software for the Labrador Island Link is “not suitable… due to unresolved issues,” and that GE is expected to have a new version ready by May.
That software would then be used for trial runs and final commissioning by the end of that month. By then, Hydro says any critical issues that don’t prevent power from flowing, will have to be fixed by GE within six months.
The Muskrat Falls Generating Station itself has been providing energy to the island since late last year.
Meanwhile, it’s not clear what, if any, effect the delay is having on finalizing the federal-provincial rate mitigation deal.
Officials have been saying since early December that it was just a matter of dotting the Is and crossing the Ts.
They have, however, said the agreement to offset a doubling of electricity rates will be in place before full commissioning of the Lower Churchill Project.