Yukon Energy is suing a Finnish company for millions following work it did at the Mayo hydroelectric dam.
Filed to the Yukon Supreme Court on June 5, the lawsuit centers on a hoist cable, used to lift a headgate, which controls water flow to a penstock. Penstocks are large conduits along which water travels where it meets and turns electricity-generating turbines.
Yukon Energy is suing Konecranes, a company that specializes in services terminals, ports and other industrial sites, for $7 million. The utility hired Konecranes to do routine crane and hoist inspections at the dam.
The lawsuit says the cable failed two years ago and caused “significant damage.”
Yukon Energy is seeking damages to pay for, among other things, repairs and engineering costs.
The lawsuit accuses Konacranes of negligence, alleging that the company didn’t do enough to ascertain the condition of the cable, a crucial part of the overall system. Altogether, that breached a contract, it states.
Yukon Energy argues that Konecranes should have thoroughly examined the cable, which it says was more than a decade old and showing signs of deterioration.
“Continued operation of a headgate hoist with an unverified cable condition presented a foreseeable and significant risk of catastrophic failure,” the lawsuit states.
Further, the lawsuit accuses Konecranes of issuing incomplete or misleading inspection reports, and using inexperienced employees.
None of the allegations have been tested in court.
Konecranes has not yet filed its defence to the Yukon Supreme Court.
Each party declined to comment.
The Mayo dam has had other problems in recent years, unrelated to Konecranes, like in 2020 when high water levels damaged the chute of the spillway, where excess water goes. That part of the facility is in such bad shape that the territory has tagged it for a full replacement, which could cost at least $150 million.
With files from Gabrielle Plonka
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