About 100 km of power lines could be pulled out along the Hwy 2 corridor in one of the options being considered to upgrade the transmission system between Wetaskiwin and Didsbury.
Alberta Electric System Operator’s (AESO) preferred option would see old 138-kilvolt lines decommissioned between Wetaskiwin and Lacombe and a stretch from Red Deer to Innisfail. New 240-kilovolt substations would be built at Didsbury, Ponoka and Innisfail, substations would be upgraded at Benalto and Lacombe and about 150 km of new and rebuilt line added as part of a $206 million project.
A second option would involve upgrading all of the existing 138-kilovolt line between Didsbury and Wetaskiwin. A new substation would be built at Didsbury and a Ponoka substation upgraded in a $266 million project. About 450 km of new and rebuilt lines would be involved.
Both options were presented to the public at an open house in Red Deer on Tuesday night.
Ramaiah Divi, planning lead for the project, said AESO is looking at upgrading transmission in the region to cope with an increasing demand for electricity. Load growth is expected to hit 3.5 per cent a year in the Red Deer area for the next decade.
“The existing transmission system here is congested,” said Divi.
Power lines have become a big issue in Central Alberta. A controversial 500-kilovolt line from Edmonton to Calgary is proposed on a north-south line west of Sylvan Lake and another 500-kilovolt line is proposed on a north-south line near Castor.
Divi compares those projects to super highways, compared with the secondary highways being proposed for the Red Deer region upgrades. “It’s meant for the local needs.”
It will be up the Alberta Utilities Commission to determine which option is chosen.
AESO is now working on an application to show the line is needed, backed up with technical information, potential land impacts, costs and public feedback. If the commission agrees, power line company AltaLink will be assigned to develop a proposal outlining what needs to be built and where it should go. The commission the must approve those facilities proposals and may hold a public hearing.
Dave King, of Red Deer said he came out to see what was being proposed. He used to own land in Rimbey and still has a lot of friends in the community where the 500-kilovolt Western Transmission Line has been a hot topic.
“A lot of them are totally against AltaLink,” he said. “They are a four-letter word.
“They made a big error in the way they went about it. They made a lot of enemies.”
An Alberta Utilities Commission-organized presentation and question and answer session on the western line is taking place at the town’s community centre at 5109 54th St. beginning at 7 p.m. tonight (WEDNESDAY).
Bill and Kathy Brannen, who live just south of Blackfalds and have a 138-kilovolt crossing their land, were curious to see what was proposed.
“We’re just more interested in learning where these lines are going and what they are for.”
Other AESO open houses on the Red Deer region upgrades are as follows:
• Wednesday - Innisfail, at Royal Canadian Legion, 5108 49th Ave.
• Thursday - Ponoka, at Royal Canadian Legion, 3911 Hwy 2A
• March 2 - Didsbury, at Didsbury Memorial Complex, 1702 21st Ave.
• March 3 - Red Deer, Holiday Inn 67, 6500 67th St.
• March 4 - Sylvan Lake, Sylvan Lake Community Centre, 4725 43rd St.
For more information go to www.aeso.ca.
pcowley@www.reddeeradvocate.com