Mountain View County (MVC) council has passed a motion requiring a new power line being brought into the Sundial cannabis production facility on the south side of Olds be buried in the right-of-way.
The May 1 motion calls for the new line to be installed underground along Rge. Rd. 20 and Twp. Rd. 324.
Fortis Alberta had proposed having the new line installed above ground across the roadway from existing power lines.
The new line is running from the substation along Highway 27 immediately northwest of Olds to the Sundial facility just west of Highway 2A.
Placing the new line on poles would cost about $675,000, compared with about $2.5 million for burying the lines, council heard.
County policy #4019 states that “twinning of distribution power lines is not supported by Mountain View County” and that “requests for approval to twin power lines will be referred to council for direction.”
During an earlier presentation to council Fortis officials had asked for an exemption to the policy to allow twinning of overhead lines.
At the time Reeve Bruce Beattie said the county has concerns that twinning the lines would create a traffic hazard.
“Our main concern is obviously safety in terms of having power poles on both sides of the road,” said Beattie.
The Town of Olds provided a two-page document to council outlining that municipality’s position on the twinning proposal.
In the letter, Olds mayor Michael Muzychka said, in part, that, the town “supports the option of requiring underground installation of the power line to address concerns about aesthetics and safety. The town also appreciates the county’s concerns regarding overhead power on both sides of the roads.”
MVC councillor Al Kemmere said having the power line buried is a good solution.
Work on the new line from the substation is already underway along Rge. Rd. 20.
Coun. Peggy Johnson said while she supports the motion, “I’m disappointed that the planning has all been so done at the last minute and that we are put in a position of having to do this path of least resistance kind of urgent motion.”
