John Evans is chief engineer for FortisInc. and a former vice president of New-foundland Power Inc., a Fortis subsid-iary. Mr. Evans currently is responsiblefor business development in small hydroin North and Central America, whichbuilds on the expertise begun in New-foundland more than 100 years ago. IanKerr is a project engineer for Newfound-land Power Inc., responsible for manag-ing generation and substation projects.

plant’s original purpose was to supplypower to St. John’s electric street rail-way system. It has continually operatedsince its commissioning in 1900 andtoday annually furnishes 18 gigawatt-hours of electricity to customers ofNewfoundland Power Inc., a whollyowned subsidiary of FortisInc. That accounts for ap-proximately 4 percent ofthe utility’s generation.

The project was one ofthe first hydroelectricplants in Canada and thefirst hydroelectric plant inNewfoundland. It wasconstructed in conjunc-tion with the St. John’sstreet railway system. (The system’sinitial 8 kilometers of rails were com-pleted in December 1899, when fourstreetcars served the city’s populationof approximately 31,000.)

The hydroelectric plant and the St.John’s street railway system were theideas of Robert G. Reid, owner of theSt. John’s Street Railway Company, andG.H. Massey, chief engineer for Reid’scompany. Reid was a Scottish civil engi-neer who had arrived in Canada in 1871.He established successful contractingand railway businesses in centralCanada, and by 1890, reputedly, was amillionaire. Reid built the Newfound-land Railway, but a year before its com-pletion in 1897, he had already turned

his sights to the city of St. John’s. In 1896, the Newfoundland govern-

ment awarded Reid the rights to buildand operate the St. John’s street railwaysystem and to construct the Petty Har-bour hydroelectric plant to supply itspower. The government also authorizedReid’s company to sell any surplus elec-tricity produced by the plant to corpora-tions or individuals for power, light, orheating purposes.

When built, the plant had the secondlargest capacity in Canada, next in sizeto the DeCew Falls No. 1 plant nearNiagara Falls, Ontario, Canada.1

The project’s primary water source isan upstream 21.8 million-cubic-meterstorage reservoir called Bay Bulls BigPond — created by a 6-meter-high damon Raymond’s Brook (one of the tribu-

taries of the Petty HarbourRiver). In 1921, the storagevolume increased to 35million cubic meters as aresult of an approximate 3-meter increase in the heightof the dam. Since 1976,this reservoir also hasserved as one of the majorwater supplies for the St.John’s metropolitan area.

The waterworks included an openwooden flume and rock tunnel, whichconveyed water from the forebay reser-voir to the penstock. A surge tank in-stalled during refurbishment/reconstruc-tion of the project in 1926 remains inservice today. Another interesting fea-ture of the plant is the location of thepowerhouse in the middle of town.Aside from the penstock, the power-house appears to be merely another com-mercial building in the community.

Equipment designer A.C. Rice initiallyspecified a 1,400-kW early Francis-typeturbine and a 550-volt, three-phase gen-erator. The plant began operation in 1900with a staff of eight to ten employees.Today, one person staffs the plant on a

Petty Harbour: Bringing Hydroelectricity to an Island Community

The 5.3-MW Petty Harbour Hydroelectric Development —

commissioned in 1900 — was the first hydro plant built in the

Canadian province of Newfoundland. The project still operates

today, accounting for approximately 4 percent of Newfoundland

Power’s annual generation. This plant is the most recent

inductee to Hydro Review’s Hydro Hall of Fame.

H Y D R O H A L L O F F A M E

By John G. Evans and Ian R. Kerr

The geography of the area surround-ing the 5.3-MW Petty Harbour Hy-droelectric Development in Petty

Harbour, Newfoundland, Canada, is lar-gely unchanged since the time of theplant’s construction at the turn of thecentury. The terrain surrounding thetown consists of high rocky cliffs withprominent bedrock outcrops. The smallfishing community lies on a cove off ofthe North Atlantic Ocean, about 12 kilo-meters south of St. John’s, the oldestcity in North America. Petty Harbour,which lies on Newfoundland’s AvalonPeninsula, is perhaps best known as thescene of the 1977 movie Orca: TheKiller Whale.

But while the area remains much thesame, the role of the 2003 Hydro Hallof Fame inductee has changed. The

From Hydro Review, September 2003 - © HCI Publications, www.hcipub.comReproduced with permission

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part-time basis as a result of remotecontrol capability and the fact that theplant no longer is as critical to servicereliability as it was in the past.

The plant is named for the commu-nity of Petty Harbour, known in 1500 as“Petite Harbour,” a seasonal base for the

at English settlement there failed. By1664, however, the area’s name hadbeen anglicized as “Petty Harbour.” Set-tlement continued despite attacks fromthe French and discouragement frommigrant fishermen who destroyed set-tlers’ houses each season. By the mid-

2 HYDRO REVIEW / SEPTEMBER 2003

Basque fishery. English adventurersmoved in during the next century andprevailed in a conflict with Portuguesefisherman in 1618, when the area wasknown as “Petyte Harbour.” During the1600s, pirates used the harbor as a baseand hiding place, and in 1637 an attempt

The Petty Harbour Hydroelectric Development began operation in1900 to supply power to the St. John’s electric street railway. Whenthe railway began service, four streetcars served a population ofabout 31,000.

The high rocky cliffs with prominent bedrock outcrops surroundingthe 5.3-MW Petty Harbour Hydroelectric Development in Petty Har-bour, Newfoundland, Canada, remain largely unchanged since thisphoto was taken at the turn of the 20th century.

General InformationLocation: Petty Harbour (approximately

12 kilometers south of St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada)

Owner: Newfoundland Power Inc. (a Fortis Company)

Capacity: 5.3 MWAverage Yearly Output: 18 gigawatt-hoursHead: 57.9 metersAverage Streamflow: 5.6 cmsOn-Line: 1900Original Design: G.H. Massey, A.C. RiceOriginal Construction: Reid Newfoundland

Company

Equipment:Turbines (3)Unit 2 (originally installed in 1900):Victor type (early Francis turbine)1.4 MWManufactured by Stillwell, Bierce & Smith

Vaille Co.Replaced in 1908 with:Horizontal Francis1.57 MWManufactured by VoithUnit 1 (originally installed in 1902):Inward-flow Girard type (impulse turbine)1.4 MWManufactured by Stillwell, Bierce & Smith

Vaille Co.Replaced in 1912 with:

Horizontal Francis1.57 MWManufactured by Voith

Unit 3 (installed in 1926):Horizontal Francis2.05 MWManufactured by Armstrong WhitworthGenerators (3)Unit 2 (installed in 1900):3-phase, 60 Hertz, 550 voltsManufactured by WestinghouseReplaced in 1926 with:3-phase, 60 Hertz, 2,300 voltsManufactured by General ElectricUnit 1 (installed in 1902): 3-phase, 60 Hertz, 550 voltsManufactured by WestinghouseRewound in 1926 to 2,300 voltsUnit 3 (installed in 1926):3-phase, 60 Hertz, 2,300 voltsManufactured by General Electric

ConstructionPowerhouse48.8 meters long by 7.3 meters wide

by 4.9 meters high Masonry constructionPenstockOriginal: 1,057 meters long, 2.4-meter by 2.4-meter

cross-section wooden flume

112.2 meters long, 2.4-meter by 2.4-metercross-section rock tunnel

115.2 meters long, 2-meter-diameter steel penstock

Replacements:1926: 975-meter-long, 2.3-meter-diameter

wood stave penstock

1953: Steel penstock (surge tank riser)replaced with 2.3-meter-diameter steel pipe

1999: Lower 740.7 meters of penstockreplaced with 2.3-meter-diameter steel pipe

Intake StructureConcrete with steel gate and lift

(integral to forebay dam)Dams and ReservoirsForebayIn 1900, rockfill with timber facingIn 1926, concrete gravity Steel anchors added in 19929.1-meter maximum heightBay Bulls Big PondZoned earthfill (rebuilt 1998-1999)Concrete outlet conduitCochrane PondEarthfill with concrete overflow spillway

and timber crib outletTailraceUnlined canal excavated in rock137 meters long

Technical Information

Petty Harbour Hydroelectric Development

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1800s, Irish and English were countedamong the town’s population of 747.

When the Petty Harbour project be-gan in 1898, it brought alternate employ-ment, as well as relatively inexpensiveelectricity. Soon after the project beganoperation, however, the owners realizedthat the growing demand for electricity— particularly during the drier summermonths — exceeded the plant’s ability togenerate power. By 1907, the companywas supplying electricity to 20,500 citylights compared to just 9,000 in 1901.As well, commercial and industrial oper-ations in the city began converting theiruse of gas engines in favor of electricity.

To respond to the exploding demandfor electricity, the plant owners installeda second unit in 1902. This unit had thesame capacity as the original, but was ofa different design. The new unit was animpulse wheel with an outward-flow

Girard-type runner and aunique governor arrangementlinked to the unit’s main gatevalve.

In 1908, the original turbinewas replaced with a 1.57-MWhorizontal Fran- cis turbinethat used 50 percent less waterand had greater capacity andefficiency. In 1912, the own-ers replaced the second tur-bine-generator unit to helpmeet the ever-increasing de-mand. Further increases inproduction were achieved in1918 when, to alleviate sum-mer water shortages, an addi-tional watershed was divertedfrom the Manuel’s River sys-tem to form a 2.3-million-

cubic-meter reservoir at Cochrane Pond. The St. John’s Street Railway Com-

pany operated the plant until 1926,when the company sold it to Newfound-land Light and Power — the predeces-sor to the current owner, NewfoundlandPower. In response to the continuedgrowth in demand for electricity, the newowner made major upgrades, which weredesigned by Montreal Engineering Com-pany (currently part of AMEC), to allaspects of theproject. Refurbishment/reconstructionincluded rewinding the generator thatwas installed in 1912 and adding a thirdturbine-generator. In 1981, the utilityagain upgraded Units 2 and 3 by re-placing the runners and wicket gates toimprove efficiency.

In 1978, the plant was entered in theCanadian Engineering Heritage Record,and tourists frequently visit due to its

HYDRO REVIEW / SEPTEMBER 2003 3

Petty Harbour’s original turbine and generator operatedfrom 1900 to 1926.

scenic location and historic value. Inaddition to its role as a generating station,the plant and its operator also collectrainfall and streamflow data for publica-tion by Environment Canada, a Canadianfederal government department.

While the plant’s current role is smallrelative to total provincial electricityneeds, it still is one of the larger plants inNewfoundland Power’s generation net-work of 23 small hydroelectric develop-ments. Newfoundland Power and FortisInc. recognize that small hydro can be anenvironmentally friendly form of powergeneration and, therefore, continue toinvestigate potential sites throughoutNorth and Central America. (The newestof Newfoundland Power’s plants — the6-MW Rose Blanche plant located onthe province’s southwest coast — wascommissioned in 1998.) Despite thePetty Harbour plant’s age and less sig-nificant role today, there is every reasonto expect this plant to continue operationfor the foreseeable future. ■

Mr. Evans may be contacted at FortisInc., P.O. Box 8837, St. John’s, New-foundland A1B 3T2 Canada; (1) 709-737-5678; Fax: (1) 709-737-5307; E-mail: jevans@fortisinc.com. Mr. Kerrmay be contacted at NewfoundlandPower, Inc., P.O. Box 8910, St. John’s,Newfoundland A1B 3P6 Canada; (1)709-737-5204; Fax: (1) 709-737-2926;E-mail: ikerr@newfoundlandpower.com.

Note1Osborne, Bob, “DeCew Falls No. 1:

Part of Canada’s Hydroelectric Her-itage,” Hydro Review, Volume XVII,No. 6, November 1998, pages 42-44.

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