Volta River Authority Study Tour

Manitoba Hydro International provided members of the Volta River Authority with a Study Tour of Manitoba Hydro’s facilities, expertise and training capabilities focused on the Operation and Maintenance of its hydro-powered generating stations.

The VRA visited the Manitoba Hydro Trades Training Centre, which included a discussion on Manitoba Hydro’s initiative to combine several current programs into a multi-skilled program combining plant operations and maintenance, and the application of the multi-skilled worker concept at the Generating Stations and HVDC Convertor Stations.

Another major aspect of the visit consisted of a tour and presentation of the Manitoba Hydro System Control Centre. This presentation discussed the training programs used to develop NERC-compliant system operations specialists and the role that engineering support groups play in the operation of the control centre.

The delegation also toured several Northern Manitoba generating stations and HVDC Convertor Stations. A tour of the 300 MW Kelsey Generating Station Rebilitation Project was followed by a meeting with plant management staff and the engineering group. Following a tour of the 1200 MW Kettle and the construction site of 200 MW hydro generating station, the VRA delegates visited a nearby HVDC Converter Station. The HVDC Station Plant Manager discussed Manitoba Hydro training approaches, implemented in order to reduce training time and costs, increase retention, and better employee incentive results.