Open house held for proposed power line
Amy Gregson – Times Reporter
Residents were able to express their opinions on the proposed power line routes at an open house Feb. 16 at the Indus Recreation Center.
Alta Link is proposing to build a transmission line, which will run from the Genesee area west of Edmonton to the Langdon area.
“We are hosting open houses and information sessions to talk to landowners and stakeholders in the community so we can get their input,” said Scott Schreiner from Alta Link. “There may not be a perfect route, but we know there’s a lowest overall impact one.”
The company has been going across the province and speaking to residents about their concerns and getting their feedback.
They have already talked to more than 1,000 people at the open houses.
“The feedback we get is really valuable in us being able to get all the information that we need,” said Schreiner.
In the past 25 years, one million people have moved into the province and the demand for electricity has doubled. The power lines have not been updated.
“We need to ensure the system is reliable and the generators that produce electricity are forced to compete, so that you and I can have access to the lowest cost power in the province,” Schreiner said.
He said a new power line is needed and Alta Link has already done preliminary work to identify three different route possibilities.
The open houses were designed for people to voice their concern about how it will impact them in regards to things such as compensation if the line ends up on their property, the environment and visual impacts.
“The feedback we get helps us make good decisions,” said Schreiner. “It’s naïve to think we aren’t going to have people that are concerned about it, but the fact of the matter is, we want to make sure we are listening to everybody and that we’re making all the good decisions that we can.”
Schreiner said they realize power lines have an impact on land and through the open houses they are trying to find the route that will impact the least amount of people.
He said they have had people opposed to the project and try to understand what their concerns are and how they can be met.
Schreiner said it is too early to see how the power line would affect those in the Langdon area because they don’t know what the route is or where the terminal station will be.
“There’s lots of power lines in and out of the Langdon area already and so this is another and we recognize people are concerned with the number of power lines,” he said. “Let’s focus on how we mitigate those and how we make the best decisions to have that lowest overall impact.”
At the open houses people were able to talk with subject matter experts if they were concerned about specific matters such as the environment or compensation or the technology being used.
Schreiner said they are able to answer most questions, but if they can’t they would certainly get back to people.
“We are trying to be open, we want to be open and transparent and that’s the work we want to do,” he said.
Nothing is set in stone yet with regard to the power line, and Alta Link will be having information sessions throughout March.
They will take all the feedback they’ve received during these sessions, refine the routes and go back to speak with people again later in the summer.
It is expected that in the spring of 2011 they will file an application with the Alberta Utilities Commission, with the process taking another year.
They expect a public hearing so that everyone’s voice is heard. If they get approval, it will take at least two years to build the line.
“The important thing for everyone to remember is we’re at the beginning and at an information gathering stage so we can make good decisions,” said Schreiner.
For any more information on the project or when session will be held visit www.albertaelectricityfuture.ca/westernline