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Keeyask generating station achieves milestones in 2020


The Keeyask Generation Project achieved several milestones this year. Watch the video above to see the progress made so far in 2020.

Recent project milestones include:

  • The first rotor, the single largest/heaviest piece of equipment installed in each unit, was placed in Unit 1 in January.
  • Water-up (allowing areas dewatered during construction to fill back up to surrounding water levels) was completed in April.
  • The first unit was handed over to Manitoba Hydro in April, allowing commissioning (testing) on the unit prior to it coming into service to begin.
  • Activation and continuation of the project’s pandemic response plan that worked to keep everyone working on the project and the surrounding communities as safe as possible under dynamic and trying conditions, including protocols for quarantine, sanitation and safety accommodations for continued residence and labor by hundreds of staff as the pandemic unfolded this spring.

“All these milestones are key parts of the Keeyask project continuing to work toward our first unit in-service in October 2020,” said Dave Bowen, Keeyask Project Director for Manitoba Hydro. “Meeting these milestones – in spite of the challenges of 2020 – is a real testament to the work put in by everyone involved in the project as we continue to push the project forward to the first generation unit in-service date this fall.”

Work on the project proceeded even in the face of constant safety adjustments related to the COVID-19 pandemic, including a temporary workforce scale-back (from 1,400 workers to approximately 700) for approximately eight weeks from March to May. The workforce has since ramped back up to approximately 800 workers and efforts continue toward the first unit in-service this October.

Development of the Keeyask Project is a collaborative effort between Manitoba Hydro and four northern First Nations: War Lake First Nation, York Factory First Nation, Fox Lake Cree Nation and Tataskweyak Cree Nation. Together, they form the Keeyask Hydropower Limited Partnership (KHLP).