NB Power starts laying new undersea cable

NB Power has begun laying undersea cable as the Fundy Isles Transmission Power Line Project nears its end. Project Manager Wendi Wright says a 3.5‑kilometre segment of cable has been laid across Head Harbour Passage between Deer Island and Campobello, using DeepOcean Group's 453‑foot Maersk Connector.
The first "pull‑in" was done at Chocolate Cove on September 3 and the second on September 9. The pull‑in process involves pulling the cable on shore through conduits that were previously installed using onshore winches. The cable is then trifurcated, dividing its three cores and connecting the lines to overhead transmission lines. About five weeks of work remain on this section, including the connections to the overhead lines, grounding, testing switches and testing the submarine cable to check for any damage done during installation. Once all this is done, the cable can be energized.
The same sequence will be followed for the 14‑kilometre section between Long Eddy Point on Grand Manan and Little Whale Cove on Campobello. Wright expects the first pull‑in to happen around September 11 or 12 at Long Eddy, depending on the weather. There will also be a "post‑laying" survey to check over the cable and provide data for the Canadian Hydrographic Service's charts.
"It's a big endeavour," she says, a complex project with a variety of participants. There may be as few as three to a dozen or more people on site. The cable contractor is Norddeutsche Seekabelwerke GmbH in Germany; the marine installation subcontractor is UK/Norway‑based DeepOcean Group with the Maersk Connector. More locally, Holland Power Services and Fundy Contractors are handling the transmission line work and civil earthworks, and multiple NB Power groups are involved in the testing. Other workers come from Quebec, England, Germany and France. "The people make it interesting," Wright says, as they bring the cultures and perspective of several countries. She adds that islanders have also been hospitable.
The work is often weather dependent, and one of the biggest challenges has been the tide. "It's given the guys considerable grief," Wright says, a little tongue‑in‑cheek. "It very much affects things." While the cable‑laying vessel can easily handle positioning, the remotely‑operated undersea vehicle that follows the cable to make sure it's laid down on the bottom is limited to currents under two knots. They have seen up to six knots in Head Harbour Passage. Pull‑ins have to be done at slack tide, preferably high slack. Divers also work near shore on the pull‑ins.
The environmental and geographic conditions "make it interesting," Wright says. Tasks that might take hours or days elsewhere can take a lot longer here. Ferry travel to all the sites adds to the logistical challenges in moving personnel and equipment. However, she adds that good communication and relationships mean that all the agencies are working very well together. "It's a really cool project."
Another highlight has been the whale‑watching afforded by the project's location. Marine mammal monitors are required as a condition of the project. Marine biologists and Indigenous marine mammal monitors have been tasked with that. Wright says she's had as much fun watching the whales as watching the cable installation, especially near Wilson's Beach, where minkes are frequently spotted. "They're amazing creatures," she says. "They're so curious." She adds that the vessels' crews have been "very respectful" of marine mammals in the area.
Under ideal conditions it could take six days to lay the channel segment. NB Power's target completion date is mid‑October, although weather delays could push that to the end of the month. Since the old cable between Campobello and Grand Manan is still viable, Wright says it could possibly be used to reconnect Grand Manan to mainland power, if the short segment is energized ahead of time.
The new cable also contains a fibre‑optic line, and while NB Power is not a telecommunications provider, interested parties could contract to use it. Wright says several companies have expressed interest. Grand Manan's slow Internet speed has been a recurring subject at village council meetings, and islanders are hopeful that the availability of fibre‑op will eventually lead to better service. Wright says getting a connection from the mainland through Deer Island may be a hurdle for providers.
She has been with the project for two and a half years and is looking forward to the day they energize the cable and reconnect the islands to mainland power. She notes that the 40‑year‑old cable has had no issues until the last couple of years, a remarkably long life.
Grand Manan has experienced several electrical outages this summer. After the short section of the cable failed in July, the island was powered by its own generating station, which also had a brief breakdown; then in August Campobello and Grand Manan received three and seven small diesel generators respectively, which use less fuel than the Grand Manan "jet." With the various power sources, islanders have noticed clocks running fast, then slow, and some momentary brightening of lights. Then on September 7 Grand Manan had another outage, which Mayor Dennis Greene says was due to failure of some transformers serving the generators. The "jet" was brought back on line. As of September 10, it was still powering Grand Manan, as crews work to repair the transformers. Greene wants to correct rumours that "the generators blew up" in the storm.