LUTHERAN QUILTERS – Members of the Quilts for Comfort Group stand between pews draped with some of the 205 quilts they made, in the Sitka Lutheran Church Tuesday. The group made the quilts for five local non-profits and one in Anchorage. The remaining quilts are sent to Lutheran World Relief which  distributes them to places around the world in need, such as Ukraine, as part of Personal Care Kits. Pictured are, from left, Helen Cunningham, Kathleen Brandt,Vicki Swanson, Paulla Hardy, Kim Hunter, Linda Swanson and Sue Fleming.  (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)

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Daily Sitka Sentinel

Balky Transformer Delays Blue Lake Startup

By TOM HESSE

Sentinel Staff Writer

A hardware problem at the Blue Lake power house has put testing of the brand new generators on hold.

Transformer station at the Blue Lake power plant. (Sentinel Photo)

Utility Director Chris Brewton said one of the transformers, which convert power from the dam generators to levels that can be fed into the city electrical grid, is not working properly. 

“It appears we have a defective connection inside the transformer,” Brewton said. “It’s a three-phase transformer, and we’re only getting a connection out of two of those phases.” 

That’s a problem because the hydroelectric project is in a critical stage of testing to make sure the increased power can flow through the new systems and into Sitka’s grid. 

“It’s a major disappointment because we have a lot of testing we could do. Essentially we are on hold until we get this issue resolved,” Brewton said.

The Blue Lake hydro plant has been offline since Aug. 17, and was scheduled to be back into service with new generating capacity on Oct. 18. Brewton said they won’t know how long it will take to solve the problem. A representative of the company that manufactures the transformer is in Sitka, and Brewton said “all hands are on deck” to open up the transformer to troubleshoot the problem.

“It’s a complicated procedure,” Brewton said. “There’s 1,200 to 1,500 gallons of oil in that transformer.” 

Once the transformer issue is resolved, Brewton said, he’ll have a better idea of what the overall effect on the start-up schedule will be. Brewton said he’s hoping to have an answer to report at tonight’s Assembly meeting. 

The good news is that other facets of the project are “going really well,” Brewton said. The electrical department changed the power supply status from “red” to “yellow” in part because Green Lake, the main power source for the city with Blue Lake off line, is spilling over the top of the dam.

“We’re at 396.6 feet at Green Lake and we spill at 395 so we have a foot and a half of water coming over the top of the dam right now,” Brewton said. 

The “yellow” designation asks residents to be cautious using electric heat and to continue conserving electricity where possible.

As for Blue Lake, the advance toward the target level of 425 feet continues, with the level now above 392 feet, Brewton said. Before the dam was raised it was 342 feet high

 

“That’s coming along real well, and to be 50 feet past the old level is a good sign for us,” Brewton said.

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20 YEARS AGO

March 2004

Advertisement: Tea-Licious Tea House & Bakery 315 Lincoln Street Grand Opening! Freshly Baked Scones, Cakes & Pastries Innovative Salads, Soups & Sandwiches Harney & Sons Tea. Lunch * Afternoon Tea * Supper.

50 YEARS AGO

March 1974

Photo caption: National Republican Chairman George Bush takes a drink of water offered by Jan Craddick, Sitka delegate, during the Republican convention held here. Mrs. Craddick explained to Bush that the water was from Indian River, which means, according to local legend, that he will return.

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