TORONTO — Ontario’s Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) has requested that Hydro One Inc. start development work for a new electricity transmission line between Thunder Bay and the Manitoba border in northwestern Ontario.
A recent release explained the new line would support future economic growth, with the need for new electricity supply emerging as soon as the early 2020s if there is high growth in the mining sector, including the Ring of Fire.
The Northwest Bulk Transmission Line Project was identified as a priority project in the 2017 Long-Term Energy Plan.
The project would be divided into three phases: phase one, a line from Thunder Bay to Atikokan; phase two, a line from Atikokan to Dryden; and phase three, a line from Dryden to the Manitoba border.
The IESO has recommended in a letter to Hydro One that the operator begin development work on the first two phases as soon as possible.
The scope of development work is to include preliminary design and engineering, cost estimation, public engagement and consultation, routing and siting, and environmental assessment, the statement indicated.
The IESO said it will continue to monitor developments in the region to determine when construction of the transmission line should begin
Specifications for phase one include a new double-circuit 230-kilovolt line between Lakehead Transmission Station (TS) and Mackenzie TS with a thermal capacity that is equal to or greater than the existing transmission line of the same capacity between Lakehead TS and Mackenzie TS.
This would achieve the required westbound transfer of at least 350 megawatts into Mackenzie TS and Moose Lake TS, the statement explained.
Phase two would consist of a new single-circuit 230-kilovolt line from Mackenzie TS to Dryden TS with a matching thermal capacity.
This would achieve the required westbound transfer of at least 350 megawatts from MacKenzie and Moose Lake
“We look out over the next 20 years as part of our electricity planning,” says Leonard Kula, vice-president of planning, resources and acquisition at the IESO.
“Taking action today will lay the groundwork so that communities, businesses and Indigenous peoples in the northwest have a reliable supply of electricity in the years ahead when the regional economy grows.”
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