WAWA, ONT. — The Ontario government has announced the commissioning of the East-West Tie, a new 450-kilometre transmission line that runs from Wawa to Thunder Bay.
The project was launched in 2019 when the Ontario Energy Board awarded NextBridge Leave to Construct. The project was completed on schedule and went into service on March 31, 2022.
The new line will support future northern economic development initiatives, including the Critical Minerals Strategy, stated a release.
The double circuit 230-kilovolt line has a transfer capability of 450 megawatts and was built at a cost of $777 million. The constructor, NextBridge Infrastructure, is a consortium that includes NextEra Energy Inc., Enbridge Inc. and OMERS Infrastructure Management Inc., the investment arm of Ontario’s municipal employee pension fund.
The transmission station work was completed by Hydro One Networks Inc.
The transmission line was built in partnership with Bamkushwada LP, jointly owned by six First Nation communities along the north shore of Lake Superior. Indigenous workers accounted for up to 60 per cent of the construction workforce for the project, providing training opportunities for more than 200 Indigenous workers.
“Our government is powering growth across the northwest with the activation of the East-West Tie,” stated Minister of Energy Todd Smith in a statement. “With this new transmission line, we are delivering affordable and reliable electricity while providing the flexibility to develop other northern industries, including critical mineral development, as we build a made-in-Ontario supply chain that connects to our growing EV and EV battery manufacturing sectors.”
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