Hydro One will be hosting an online open house and a live public information session to introduce refinements to the suggested routes for the Chatham to Lakeshore transmission line.
Hydro One said this new transmission line will ensure the region can connect more people and industries to the grid, improve reliability for homes and businesses and accelerate economic recovery by creating new jobs and training opportunities.
“To support the future needs of our customers and the booming regional economy, we need to build an electricity network that energizes life for residents, industries and businesses for years to come,” said Daniel Levitan, the vice president of stakeholder relations at Hydro One. “The pandemic has challenged the livelihood and health of local economies across the province. This line will directly address the need for more power in the region, support economic recovery and provide certainty to businesses looking to expand.”
Hydro One held virtual information centres in May where nearly 4,000 residents attended, making it one of the company’s most attended community engagements to date. The Chatham to Lakeshore transmission line is expected to increase the amount of available power to the region by 400 megawatts, the equivalent of energizing a community the size of Windsor.
“Electricity infrastructure takes a long time to build, however, it is critical that we seek early community feedback for us to build into our plan,” said Levitan.
Last year, Hydro One also announced infrastructure upgrades to improve power reliability in the Essex region, which combined with the new transmission line, are expected to increase the amount of available power in the region by 1,000 megawatts or enough to power a city about the size of Ottawa. Hydro One plans to build a safe, strong and reliable transmission network to support residents, local jobs and fast-growing industries heavily dependent on electricity, including the agricultural and food processing sectors.
The two community engagement sessions to provide an update on the Class Environmental Assessment process and gather community feedback on the project will start on Thursday with an online open house that runs until early next year and a live virtual discussion on November 5 from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.
More information can be found by clicking here.