system, interconnections between the two neighboring provinces require HVDC converters. The first one, the Eel River Converter Station, was installed in 1972 and has a 350 MW transfer capacity. It is the first operative HVDC system equipped with thyristors The second converter, the Madawaska substation (435 MW), was built on the Quebec side of the border in 1985 and is operated by Hydro-Québec TransÉnergie. The two systems are linked by two 230-kV lines between Matapédia and Eel River, and by two 315-kV lines between the Madawaska and Edmundston substations. Some of NB Power loads in these areas can be islanded and supplied as part of the Quebec grid, which increases New Brunswick's import capability to 1,080 MW, whereas export capability to Quebec is limited to 785 MW. Coal mining Beginning in 1986, NB Power operated a coal mine in Minto through its NB Coal subsidiary. The company extracted approximately 150,000 tons of coal per year to fuel the Grand Lake Generating Station, a 57 MW power plant built in 1963. On September 30, 2009, the company announced the planned closure of the mine and the decommissioning of the Grand Lake Generating Station. The company management explained the decision by stressing the high cost of complying with stricter emission regulations. The decommissioning and demolition of the Grand Lake Generating Station were completed in 2012. Mental Health Care In agreement with the business plan of Société d’énergie du Nouveau-Brunswick, increasing mental well-being is among the major strategic initiatives for the period of 2021/2022. Financial results Controversy In 2019, the utility was heavily criticized for having invested $13 million in Joi Scientific, a Florida-based company that promised to deliver hydrogen-based power from seawater with 200% efficiency. According to critics, their promised efficiency violated the First Law of Thermodynamics. During a call with investors during the summer of 2019, Joi Scientific announced that their technology was perhaps only ~10% as efficient as previously described, meaning that their process consumes energy rather than producing it. The company also announced that they were running low on funding. Joi Scientific's technology has been described by a former employee as being based on the work of discredited inventor Stanley Meyer. See also List of power stations in New Brunswick Proposed sale of NB Power References Further reading External links NB Power Website Saint John Energy Crown corporations of New Brunswick Companies based in Fredericton Electric power companies of