A powerful partnership on the St. Lawrence River

In the middle of the one-kilometre-long Moses-Saunders Power Dam stands a marble monument that commemorates two nations working together to harness the great power of the St. Lawrence River.

Since 1958, when the facility first went into service, OPG and the New York Power Authority (NYPA) have worked closely to not only share the water, but also the common costs and duties of operating the dam and its facilities, all the while producing power independently at two separate generating stations. On the Canadian side, OPG owns and operates the 1,045 MW R.H. Saunders Generating Station (GS) in Cornwall, while NYPA operates the 912 MW Franklin D. Roosevelt Power Project in Massena, NY.

Each station boasts 16 generators and, combined, they produce 2,000 MW of electricity split between the New York and Ontario power systems, making this an important source of clean, renewable energy on both sides of the border.

“It’s a unique arrangement,” said Dale Adams, Work Centre Manager of Maintenance at the R.H. Saunders plant. “Both agencies understand and value the importance of the relationship. The water sharing agreement is the basis of many synergies that are required to operate and complement the maintaining of these facilities. It’s all about how we plan, share and invest for the benefit of both utilities.”

Under the “Joint Works Agreement”, in place since construction on the St. Lawrence Power Project began in 1954, OPG and NYPA equally share the costs to maintain certain common elements at the site. These include spillway dams, control dams, dykes, access roads and ice booms.

The costs to maintain and operate common structures are split 50 per cent between the two companies. This cost-sharing arrangement also drives communication between the two sides, with OPG and NYPA meeting regularly throughout the year to discuss projects that have a cost-sharing element.

Operators at both facilities are also in conversation on an hourly basis to ensure the stations are operating in compliance with regulated flow conditions set forth by the International Joint Commission. In a pinch, the two stations can move electricity from one country to another if needed, for instance when one utility is unable to produce enough power due to a unit outage.

“There’s a fair amount of work and project planning that’s gone on here in the last five years,” said Bryant Bullard, General Maintenance Superintendent and Licensing Manager at NYPA, “especially with the civil structures because of their age. There are a lot of repairs to be done.”

As an example, NYPA will be removing three ice sluices from the American side of the structure over the next three years. Although this isn’t a joint works agreement project, the agency’s lessons learned from this job will be shared with OPG prior to the removal of ice sluices on the Canadian side in the future. It’s just one way the two sides work together to support each other.

“Some of the biggest challenges arise when we try to accurately identify project costs and controls,” said OPG’s Adams. “There can be cost variability and timing issues for our projects. In those cases, NYPA and OPG have to adjust their own internal budgets since they will be funding half of the cost.”

In addition to sharing the river and maintenance costs, the two sides also share in planning for emergencies. An annual exercise is coordinated between OPG and NYPA, alternating countries each year, which deals with preparing for major scenarios like a dam breach.

Even 60 years later, this unique arrangement of knowledge and resource sharing continues to keep the Moses-Saunders Power Dam in top shape as it generates clean and reliable power for both countries.

“We’ve been doing this since 1958 so everybody is on the same page with the procedures and work flows,” said Bullard. “We continue to have great communication on major projects and cost sharing and everybody understands the challenges both sides have.”