frequently can be more economically dispatched. Scheduling and Dispatch Wreck Cove is a source of 212 MW of stored power for Nova Scotia Power to use when needed. It can operate at maximum power for 4–6 hours depending on conditions, at which time it needs to allow water from farther upstream in the watershed to make its way to Surge Lake. Reactive Supply and Voltage Control Nova Scotia Power's 33 hydro plants/50 hydro units provide 180 MVar of dynamic reactive power to the system. The Nova Scotia Power System Operator controls generators to absorb or produce reactive power to control system voltage. Wreck Cove is located at the eastern end of the transmission grid and therefore its ability to support load is less important than generation closer to the load centre; however, due to its relative size, its dynamic reactive power contributes to stabilizing the grid following disturbances. Primary Frequency Response Wreck Cove, like all hydro and thermal generators, is equipped with speed governors which maintain the scheduled grid frequency of 60 Hz. It provides a significant contribution to system inertia, which stabilizes the grid frequency during disturbances. System Strength Hydro generation contributes to system inertia, which allows the system to ride through fault conditions, and short circuit strength, which provides the high fault current levels needed to activate system protection devices (inverter-based wind, tidal and solar do not materially contribute to this). History Planning The project land were owned by the Province, with the exception of the Chéticamp Lake area which was owned by the federal government and formed part of the Cape Breton Highlands National Park. At the request of the Province, the latter was removed from the Park in 1958 when planning for the project first began. Since that time these lands were managed by the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs as federal crown lands but were not been subject to the National Parks Act. The Nova Scotia Power Corporation (NSPC) recommenced planning for the project in 1974. At that time the Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs agreed in principle to an exchange of the Chéticamp Lake lands for those of an equivalent natural value elsewhere in the Province, on the condition that there should be no adverse effects from the project or the National Park. In late 1974 a private consultant prepared a preliminary environmental evaluation of the project's probable effects. Following a review