A new bill that will see approval for future transmission line projects go through review and approval by the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) instead of the government is a step in the right direction for a local MLA.Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre MLA Joe Anglin said Bill 8, which was introduced to the Alberta legislature Oct. 23, is correcting a past mistake.Bill 8, the Electric Utilities Amendment Act, is the result of public input and a recommendation from the Critical Transmission Review Committee report that was put forward in February this year according to a press release from Alberta Energy.Anglin said Bill 8 is “only halfway there” when it comes to legislation. He said the authority to approve transmission lines should never have been given to cabinet in the first place.“Bill 50 is on the agenda now to be repealed,” said Anglin.He has long campaigned against Bill 50, which was the piece of legislation which gave the government power to designate critical transmission projects.He said many groups said it was not the cabinet's place to be making decisions on infrastructure.He noted the four projects that were declared critical, the Heartland transmission line, the Edmonton to Fort McMurray lines, north-south reinforcement lines between Edmonton and Calgary and a substation in Calgary, will go forward.“It's the law and we must build them,” he said.He expressed concern that the line on the east side of the province is going in the wrong spot.What was legislated back in 2009 was wrong, he said.“What we're hoping to do is shame them into logic here,” he said.Mike Deising, press secretary for Minister of Energy Ken Hughes, said the four projects will go forward because it was a government decision.“If we want robust infrastructure … we need to have strong reinforced transmission,” Deising said.He noted there was “a lot of opinion both for and against” the transmission line projects.As for how long it will take to pass Bill 8, he noted debate's just started in the legislature so it's hard to tell.Leanne Niblock, manager of communications for AltaLink, said when it comes to Bill 8 it marks a return to how most of the projects in Alberta are decided.“We appreciate the process. We appreciate all the public input,” she said. She said the AUC will be the approving authority while the Alberta Electric Systems Operator (AESO) determines the need.“The vast majority of our projects go through that process,” she said, noting only the four projects listed above were ever declared critical infrastructure.AltaLink is waiting on a decision from the AUC on whether or not they can proceed with the Western Alberta Transmission Line, one of the north-south transmission lines planned as part of the critical infrastructure projects.The hearing wrapped up in September and Jim Law, a spokesperson for the AUC, said a decision is planned before the end of the year. The decision can go one of three ways – to approve the project, to approve with conditions or to deny the application.
