Ice storm knocks out link that takes Muskrat Falls power to Newfoundland

Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro says the power lines carrying electricity from Muskrat Falls have been offline for a week, and could be out another two weeks.

Hydro confirmed to The Canadian Press that its lines were damaged by an ice storm in southern Labrador on March 30, which caused damage to about four kilometres of lines.

It's been offline ever since.

Repair work is expected to take another two weeks, according to the report.

Hydro president Jennifer Williams is slated to give an update to the media on Friday morning.

This comes a week before the one-year anniversary of the commissioning of the Labrador-Island Link. The early stages of the link were plagued by problems with winter conditions, which led to a $28-million project to protect the lines over four years.

One of the most significant issues identified was "galloping," which occurs when a number of factors such as wind and ice align to cause wires to bounce up and down.

The turnbuckles that hold the wires were designed to withstand ice and snow, but not galloping.

A big part of the four-year project is to replace each and every one of those turnbuckles with a more stable piece of equipment.

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