Nova Scotia Power's former Water Street Generating Station has a long and storied history going back well over a hundred years. In that time, the site has generated power and housed generations of staff and even a film studio. When Nova Scotia Light and Power ran it, the plant supplied power to customers of what's now the Halifax-Dartmouth area and as far away as Truro.
In 1902, the Halifax Electric Tramway company built the first generating plant on the Water Street site. The site remained an excellent choice throughout the years. Located in the middle of Halifax-Dartmouth, it was a logical spot for industrial and commercial growth. Its waterfront site with a railroad running to its doors helped guard against delays or shortages of coal or oil by making possible several forms of delivery.
A thermal generating plant also needs lots of cold water to produce power. Halifax Harbour faithfully provided millions of gallons of water to the plant every hour. When it was first built, the generating station housed two 500 kilowatt engine-driven generators. A third was added soon afterward and all were the pride of the operating staff of the day. Turbo generators were added in 1911 and 1916, increasing the total capacity of the station to 6,500 kilowatts.
Activity at the plant stayed constant even during World War I, which saw a "lights out" order for Halifax at night. In 1914, the company became the Nova Scotia Electric Tramways and Power Company, and the plant supplied DC power to the trolley busses.
Just as the new company was getting up and running, Halifax was rocked by a tremendous explosion. The Halifax Explosion of December 6, 1917 levelled entire parts of the city and left thousands injured and homeless. Nine employees of the company were killed and many others were injured by flying glass and debris.
Light and power distribution circuits, street lights and transformers were all reduced to a tangled, twisted mess. While the generating equipment was not harmed, the buildings suffered the loss of all windows and doors. Due to so few men being available for relief and reconstruction efforts, women were employed to carry out a number of activities, including conducting the tram-cars. The explosion happened at 9:00 a.m. and by 6:00 p.m. the same day all circuits were on again in the city, save for the area north of North Street which had been devastated.
When war was declared in 1939, Halifax and its great harbour facilities became vitally important to the Allied campaign. The Water Street location and important substations were fenced off, floodlighted and guarded day and night.
Around this time it also became apparent that existing facilities couldn't supply the rapidly growing demands for power from the Department of National Defence. By 1944, despite many wartime delays, a new 12,500 kilowatt generator was operational at the Water Street plant. It truly saved the day and electricity never needed to be rationed in the port city.
Most thought electricity demands would return to pre-war levels once the fighting stopped, but conventional wisdom was wrong and the need for electricity continued to grow. To meet demand another generator with a capacity of 20,000 kilowatts was added to the plant in 1951. Other machines in larger and larger sizes were added in 1953, 1955 and 1957 to keep ahead of the demand for electricity from homes, farms, businesses and industry in the Halifax area.
In 1954, the landmark 180-foot stack at the Water Street steam plant came down along with the old gas works to make way for a new plant with a 240-foot stack. The company spent $30 million over eight years on new construction. Later another generator, a mate to the one from 1957, was added. For a time, the plant was a scientific marvel, a wonder of efficiency.
But time passed and when Tufts Cove Generating Station was commissioned it quickly proved to be much more efficient. Activity at the Water Street plant slowed. During the late 1960s oil became cheap and Tufts Cove burned this fuel much easier than the Lower Water Street facility.
In 1977, the site saw the addition of an outdoor gas insulated substation that is still in operation today. Two 138,000 volt lines run to the substation and terminate on towers on the roof of the plant. Eight underground distribution feeders supply 7,500 customers in peninsular Halifax with power – including all of the downtown area.
Around the late 1970s, the site was decommissioned. While some staff worked on clean-up operations, others went to work at Tufts Cove, retired or went on to work in other parts of the company.
The substation continued to operate. The remainder of the site remained dormant until 1997, when Electropolis Studios began operating from the premises as Eastern Canada's largest film production centre. For a decade, the studio produced internationally successful and award-winning work.
The future for the Water Street facility is truly exciting for the employees of Nova Scotia Power and local residents alike. The company is turning the building into its new corporate headquarters. When employees of the company move into the facility in early 2011, they will be entering a building like no other. The Water Street offices will reduce Nova Scotia Power's environmental footprint and provide a sustainable, "greener" home for employees. The building will also include public space to benefit the community.
As the Water Street building evolves from power plant to modern office space, its future is as bright as the lights it first powered along the Halifax streets in 1902.