Although progress has been made on numerous repairs to PG&E’s Spaulding infrastructure, another delay will delay normal throughput for Spaulding Power Plant No. 2 well beyond its expected restart date of mid-September.
Spaulding No. 2 has been offline since late 2023. Repairs to the gates were completed sometime before July, according to an update from PG&E at the NID board meeting on July 10.
Spaulding No. 2 empties into the South Yuba Pipe, the section of the South Yuba Canal just below Spaulding that is owned by PG&E. In February, about 240 feet of the South Yuba Pipe was swept away by a rock slide. Last week, a heavy-lift helicopter placed new pipe segments on the newly constructed concrete foundation. Crews will spend the next few weeks welding and installing collars to prepare the pipe for water delivery. PG&E expects to have the South Yuba Pipe repaired by mid-September.
On Friday, PG&E confirmed the information it received that there was a problem with Power Plant No. 2.
During start-up testing at PG&E’s Spaulding 2 power plant, the generator sustained mechanical damage, requiring additional repairs, extending the return to service date beyond the South Yuba Pipe return to service. PG&E is currently working on a repair plan and schedule and will continue to coordinate with NID and PCWA.
Fortunately, the repair of the first of two water diversion pipes from the Spaulding 1 Power Plant in July means that a total of about 450 cubic feet per second of water is flowing into the Drum Canal. A portion of those flows, about 60 cubic feet per second, has been diverted into the South Yuba Canal below the pipe repair, which supplies the NID’s Scotts Flat Reservoir. Once the Spaulding 2 Power Plant is back online, flows of up to 100 cubic feet per second or more could flow into the South Yuba Canal, restoring full operating flow. The additional water in the South Yuba Pipe ensures that all flows from the Spaulding 1 Power Plant remain in the Drum Canal.
PG&E has informed PCWA and NID of the initial Spaulding 2 event and findings and is coordinating repair plans and schedules to minimize impacts to water deliveries.
PG&E is working with water utilities to develop a schedule for repairing the second water diversion line at the Spaulding 1 power plant, as it would require a shutdown of the Spaulding 1 power plant and limit outflow from Lake Spaulding. Once the work is completed, up to 750 cubic feet per second could flow through the power plant.
The Spaulding 2 power plant discharges into the South Yuba Pipe, which connects to the NID’s South Yuba Canal and flows to the NID’s Scotts Flat Reservoir. The Spaulding 1 power plant discharges into the Drum Canal, which flows into the NID’s Rollins Reservoir. PCWA also draws water from the Rollins Reservoir.
PG&E spokesman Paul Moreno emailed YubaNet
We reached out to both NID and PCWA on Friday for comment on the new delay. Matt Young, spokesman for the Placer County Water Agency (PCWA), said, “We are still gathering information. It is my understanding that NID will send a representative from PG&E at its next board meeting to present the new delay to the NID board on April 14.”th. I look forward to hearing more from this meeting so we can assess the impact on our customers.”
“NID is awaiting more information to understand the extent of the repairs needed. This is a dynamic situation and the district is in direct contact with PG&E,” said General Manager Jennifer Hanson. “We cannot stress enough the importance of conserving water during this water shortage emergency.”
The public is encouraged to attend the NID board meeting on August 14, 2024, where PG&E will be present to discuss the situation. The meeting will be accessible via Zoom or in the district boardroom.
Full flows perhaps in 2025, another outage looms
Delays in fully restarting Spaulding #1, Spaulding #2 and the South Yuba Pipe have stretched into 2025. The second horn on Spaulding #1 will need to be repaired in the same way as the horn that was just restarted. Several PG&E spokespeople have stated that the company learned a lot from repairing the first horn and could therefore shorten the repair time. Still, the power plant will have to be taken offline, the tunnel that supplies it will have to be completely drained and the repairs will take place in the same cramped area as before.
Repairs are planned for early 2025, but no specific timeline has been set. The outage will impact the recharge of Rollins Reservoir, which currently has 41,100 acre-feet, or 37 percent of its capacity, available for consumption.
