A special protection scheme was required for a mine in Northern Saskatchewan, serviced by one of the longest unloaded transmission lines in the world. The solution involved adding a component to modify the existing power line carrier to transmit a protection signal. As with all projects in the remote wilderness of the Canadian Precambrian Shield, this one presented numerous logistical challenges. Two TeleControl team members had to leapfrog each other on charter flights between five sites, simultaneously install the equipment on a live system, work together to commission it, complete as-built documentation, and then load up to fly to the next site.

We were installing a module in the Power Line Carrier (PLC) that we hadn’t previously used. Given the limited technical support available in the remote wilderness, the task required both the confidence to work independently and meticulous attention to detail when reviewing the technical documentation prior to commencing the project.