Cliff Heating Plant Update: Construction of Temporary Boiler Plant

November 27, 2009

As reported on November 16, efforts are going well to ensure normal operations of the buildings served by the Cliff Plant until the plant is fully operational again:

• Three new temporary boilers are operational at the Gatineau Plant. Installation of three additional temporary boilers is 90% complete.
• A temporary boiler plant is being constructed adjacent to the Cliff Plant, in the parking lot beside the Supreme Court of Canada. Four supplementary boilers are being installed; the first two are expected to be operational by early December, and the second two by mid-December. They will become the primary source of heat for all buildings on the Cliff Plant distribution system. At that point the supplemental boilers installed at the Gatineau Plant will be kept as back up for the system capacity.

PWGSC is doing everything within its power to minimize the impact of these critical activities on its neighbours, however, some inconveniences are inevitable.

• Construction of a temporary building to house the boilers adjacent to the Cliff Plant has begun and is slated to end on December 23. It is possible that construction will need to take place up to 24 hours a day, seven days a week, in order to meet this deadline.
• Also, until the building is complete and the boilers are closed in, noise levels from their operation will be elevated. Although a third-party engineering report indicates that noise levels will be below the city bylaw, the department will be implementing noise-reduction measures such as a specially designed exhaust stack equipped with noise-reducing equipment.

We apologize to all our neighbours for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience as we complete this critical work. With the onset of winter imminent, these undertakings are critical to the operation of Parliament and the Government of Canada. The Cliff Plant provides heating and cooling to roughly 50,000 federal employees located in 52 buildings in downtown Ottawa, including the Parliament Buildings. Replacing its capacity is our immediate priority.

Clean-up of the Cliff Plant is expected to continue until spring 2010, at which time the full assessment of required repairs will be possible. PWGSC has, and will continue to use, third-party engineering firms and internal resources to assess, plan and execute the recovery of the Cliff Plant capacity.

PWGSC is continuing its investigation and cooperating with the Fire Marshall, Technical Standards & Safety Authority, Ontario Ministry of Labour, Human Resources & Skills Development Canada (Labour) and departmental health & safety committee.

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For more information, contact:

Public Works and Government Services Canada
Media Relations
819-956-2315