OPG & NYPA celebrate 60 years of the St. Lawrence Power Project
On the sprawling Moses-Saunders Power Dam, representatives from OPG and the New York Power Authority (NYPA), as well as dignitaries from both sides of the border, came together to officially celebrate the shared hydroelectric generating facility’s 60th anniversary.
The commemoration of the decades-long partnership between OPG and NYPA took place Aug. 24 under the marble International Friendship Monument located at the centre of the one-kilometre-long dam, which straddles the border between Canada and the U.S. on the St. Lawrence River.
Among those on hand for the celebration were Jeff Lyash, OPG’s President and CEO, Gil Quiniones, NYPA President and CEO, Bernard Lord, OPG’s Board Chair, and Mike Martelli, President of OPG’s Renewable Generation.
For decades, we have worked with our U.S. counterpart to generate clean power from the St. Lawrence River in a safe and environmentally conscious manner. Our continued cooperation on this river is a testament to the trust and friendship that is shared between OPG and NYPA. This partnership will ensure future generations of Ontarians will continue to benefit from low-cost, clean and renewable hydroelectric power.Jeff Lyash, OPG’s President and CEO
The unique partnership began in 1954 when construction on the St. Lawrence Power Project commenced, culminating 30 years of Canada-U.S. negotiations. The 1,045-megawatt (MW) R.H. Saunders Generating Station (GS) in Cornwall on the Canadian side and the 912 MW Franklin D. Roosevelt Power Project in Massena, NY, cost $600 million to build. These costs were jointly shared by OPG’s predecessor, Ontario Hydro, and the Power Authority of the State of New York.
On July 1, 1958, the 16-unit R.H. Saunders GS opened for business with the push of a button and the explosion of a cofferdam four kilometres upstream of the powerhouse. A year later, on June 27, 1959, the International Friendship Monument was unveiled in a ceremony attended by Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip from the Canadian side and Vice President Richard Nixon from the U.S. side.
Since the dam went into service, OPG and NYPA have worked closely under a Joint Works Agreement to share the water, maintenance practices, safety experiences, and common operational costs and duties, all while producing power independently at two separate generating stations. Staff from both utilities also meet regularly to set weekly water flows and discuss operations.
During the celebration on Aug. 24, OPG and NYPA re-signed the Joint Works Agreement for more years of collaboration.
“I feel a special bond, a special connection, because it's really one plant. There is no air gap between their plant and our plant,” said NYPA’s Quiniones. “That is the kind of relationship we have with OPG. It's something that I innately and instantly feel when I go and meet our friends at OPG.”
In June, OPG celebrated R.H. Saunders’ 60th anniversary by holding a rare guided tour of the station. More than 600 people from the community turned out to take a tour of the station’s headworks, the Unit 1 generator, and the new Eastern Operations Control Centre, which oversees the power production from 10 OPG hydroelectric stations in the region.
OPG employs about 80 people at R.H. Saunders GS, most of whom live in the Cornwall area.
Related stories
Subscribe and stay informed
Sign up to receive the latest news, project updates, and event information from OPG.