A Pines neighbourhood home owner was pleased to see that AltaLink took residents’ feedback into consideration for the transmission project it plans to build in the Red Deer area.
The Calgary-based company held an open house at the Red Deer Lodge on Tuesday night to provide the latest information on the Red Deer Region Transmission Development. The four-phase project was updated after residents provided input at a consultation held in the summer.
Less than 30 people attended the four-hour open house on Tuesday that focused on the second phase of development, which involves rebuilding nearly 75 km of transmission lines in and near the city.
Based on stakeholder feedback, AltaLink is considering rerouting two sections of a line that stretches 12 km from north of Red Deer to the southwest corner of the city.
One alternative is to move about one km of the transmission line currently near the Pines neighbourhood closer to Riverside Drive. It’s a move that area resident Dick Rogers and some of his neighbours proposed at the summer consultation.
“I just wanted to confirm that they’re at least looking at rerouting the lines,” said Rogers, who has lived in the Pines for 30 years.
“I’m glad they’re listening to the people here.”
He’s in favour of moving the transmission line further from the residential area because he’s “somewhat worried about electrical interference.”
AltaLink is also considering moving half a kilometre of the line closer to Riverside Drive in the Riverside Light Industrial Area.
The company proposes to rebuild about 28 km of a transmission line that stretches east of Red Deer to Joffre in its existing locations. It plans to rebuild 30 km of a line from Red Deer west to Benalto in its existing locations as well.
AltaLink proposes to rebuild these transmission lines with a different structure able to carry more power in an effort to reinforce the aging electric system that is faced with increasing demand, said Robin Boschman, senior communications advisor.
“The transmission system in Central Alberta, Red Deer and surrounding areas is 40 to 50 years old,” she said.
“And in that time, the population in the towns and cities have grown by more than 100,000 people. We also use technology different. We’re using more power.
“So the population growth coupled with the technology advances, it’s really putting a strain on the electric system.”
The Red Deer Region Transmission Development involves: upgrading six substations; building new substations near Ponoka, Innisfail and Didsbury; building roughly 50 km of new transmission lines near the substations and east of Lacombe; and removing about 25 km of existing transmission line from Red Deer to Innisfail. The project also involves the removal of approximately 75 km of transmission line from Wetaskiwin to Lacombe. Completion of all four stages is expected to cost about $200 million.
Boschman said AltaLink will host another open house to gather resident input in the new year.
The company will file an application with the Alberta Utilities Commission in the spring of 2012. If approved, construction could start on the project in the spring of 2013.
For more information, visit www.altalink.ca/reddeer.
ptrotter@www.reddeeradvocate.com