Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Residents Ask About Powerlines

Transit Centre
A resident recently asked about the impact of powerlines on our Ordz Road Transit Centre. Commuters need not be concerned.

The Transit Centre on Ordze Road is approximately 350m east of the proposed routing. Maps provided at the August Heartland Transmission Project open house in Strathcona County indicate that the proposed line extends over the west edge of the Transit Centre parking lot. The proposed towers do not physically interfere with the Centre or the parking lot. A representative from Altalink indicated that the parking lot was not a problem for them. It is important to note that the parking lot is within provincially controlled land and Alberta Infrastructure - not Altalink - makes the final determination as to the future availability of this parking lot.


Capacity
I have been asked why our region courted the upgraders if the powerlines were to be an integral part of the picture. Upgraders and the powerlines are not as direct a link as some might think.

The proposed line has capacity that far exceeds that required for current and proposed upgraders. More alarmingly the capacity was revised upward after the economic downturn!

 Here a few points that illustrate this:
  • AESO released a needs study related to these power lines in May of 2008. The "Heartland Summary Report" called for a 500kV line and a 240kV line and can be viewed at the following link:   
  • A global economic downturn hit in the Fall of 2008.
  • The provincial government passed the Electric Statutes Amendment Act in the Fall of 2009. This edict required that the Heartland project be 2 - 500 kv lines. A vast difference in capacity.


A schedule at the very end of the Electric Utilities Act outlines critical transmission infrastructure for Alberta:  

To get a balanced few of both sides residents need to examine the following sites very thoroughly: 

Look forward to your comments.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Thank you for your comment. For the protection of all resident blog readers, all comments will be moderated for spam. Valid comments will be posted as quickly as possible.