Two university professors have confirmed what most people in the Sault already suspect\u00a0\u2013 Algoma Steel\u2019s electric arc furnace could cause residents\u2019 lights to flicker and power outages, but it\u2019s not the only cause.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat’s happening doesn’t sound that surprising given that electric arc furnaces . . . they tend to be very very hard on grids,\u201d said Zeb Tate, an associate professor in electrical and computer engineering at the University of Toronto, in an interview with SooToday.<\/p>\n
\u201cTheir power consumption changes very fast.\u201d<\/p>\n
He compared it to turning on a powerful device in your home.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don’t know if you’ve ever noticed when your air conditioner turns on, you may notice slight dimming of the lights in your house.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat’s the same kind of phenomenon but at a much larger scale.\u201d<\/p>\n
At a recent council meeting<\/a>, Robert Brewer, president of PUC Services, said\u00a0Algoma Steel gets 105 to 110 megawatts of power from a gas plant and 30 megawatts through Hydro One.<\/p>\n Tate said the 30 megawatts would be enough to cause fluctuations in the power that PUC receives from Hydro One.<\/p>\n \u201cThe total load in the region looks to be around 250 megawatts, so Algoma’s EAF would constitute a significant proportion of the total regional load,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n “It’s an interesting illustration how . . . if you’re trying to increase sustainability of a operation it can have\u00a0secondary impacts on others right on the grid,” Tate added.<\/p>\n Algoma Steel began using the first of two electric arc furnaces last summer, to significantly reduce\u00a0carbon emissions and modernize the plant’s production capacity.<\/p>\n It\u00a0replaced the blast furnace technology and coke ovens<\/a> used to produce\u00a0steel in Sault Ste. Marie for\u00a0124 years.<\/p>\n The electric arc furnace is currently shut down due to issues with Lake Superior Power, the company’s gas plant.<\/a><\/p>\n In a statement, Hydro One said they\u00a0continue “to work with Algoma Steel, the Independent Electricity System Operator and PUC Services Inc. to monitor the grid, investigate reported flicker events and support mitigation measures where possible.”<\/p>\n SooToday\u00a0reached out to Algoma Steel on Aug. 10 and yesterday with questions on the electric arc furnace and the company’s power usage. No response came in by deadline.<\/p>\n Tate said\u00a0voltage stability problems in the area could also be a contributing factor to power outages and flickering lights.<\/p>\n