Mohammed Adam
Ottawa Citizen
September 3, 2000

Ontario-Quebec project would cross wetlands  

Ontario’s Hydro One is teaming up with Hydro-Quebec to build two new $304-million cross-border transmission lines the companies hope will reduce electricity prices, increase reliability and provide backup in emergencies.

Pending approval of the Ontario Energy Board, construction of two 20-kilometre transmission lines from Ottawa, through some of the region’s most sensitive wetlands to Masson in Quebec, will begin this winter. The new grid will be up and running by December 2002. It will carry 1,250 megawatts of electricity — enough for a city of half a million people for about 40 years.

The project will cost Hydro One, one of the successor companies of the former Ontario Hydro, $96.5 million. Hydro-Quebec will pay the balance of $208 million.

David Curtis, Hydro One’s transmission manager, says the main reason for the collaboration with Hydro-Quebec is to provide Ontario residents with another source of power to foster competition, particularly because one company, Ontario Power Generation, enjoys a monopoly. The hope is that another source of electricity will lead to cheaper prices.

For Quebec, however, the main consideration is the desire for a new source of power that will ensure "security of supply" in the event of an emergency such as the 1998 ice storm.

"This project will serve us well because it gives the people of Ontario access to a new source of electricity that will provide competition and lead to lower prices," said Mr. Curtis.

"And it will also serve Quebec well by improving the reliability of its electricity supply."

Mr. Curtis said political considerations played no part in the decision. "From our company’s perspective, the reasons were purely economic. Political considerations were never an issue."

The Hydro-Quebec project is the second cross-border collaboration by Hydro One. A similar project with Michigan is almost done, Mr. Curtis said.

Hydro-Quebec spokesman Eric Moisan said the company’s interest in the project is driven by lessons learned in the ice storm.

During the storm, transmission lines from James Bay froze and broke. Mr. Moisan said the problem was exacerbated in the Outaouais because Hydro-Quebec has only one line to West Quebec and this broke down near Mirabel.

"The main reason we are doing this is to secure our line so if in future we lose one line, we can use the other," said Mr. Moisan. "This will be used to secure the Quebec grid."

Tom Adams, executive director of Toronto-based Energy Probe, an environmental watchdog, says the lines are expensive but necessary.

"It’s an expensive form of insurance against higher prices, but in the absence of real competition in the generation of power in Ontario, we needed more capacity in transmission.

"This is what you get when you don’t do things right. I am a reluctant supporter."

The Ottawa section of the line will run along an existing hydro corridor from Hawthorne Road in Ottawa, cross Green Creek and then run along the edges of the Mer Bleue bog, to Cumberland and across the river.

Mr. Curtis says because the new line is on an existing corridor owned by Hydro One, no discernible environmental damage will occur. He said Hydro One completed an environmental assessment that has been approved by Ontario’s Environmental Assessment Board.

"Most of the potential environmental effects associated with this project are minor and short-term in nature," the environmental reports says.

A public hearing could be held by the Ontario Energy Board on the project. Those who wish to intervene have 14 days to notify the board of their intentions. An ad in Friday’s Citizen sets out a detailed process and addresses of the agencies.