The Western Alberta Transmission Line was approved with minimal route changes by the Alberta Utilities Commission in a decision released on Dec. 6.The line is to run from Genesee, which is west of Edmonton, to the Langdon area east of Calgary. AltaLink is to build this line, which is part of transmission system upgrades legislated by the provincial government.The decision from the AUC comes after the review process began in January 2011, including 24 days of public oral hearings in Red Deer this past summer.The approval gave the go-ahead to most of AltaLink's identified preferred route.One of the big changes was for a 12-kilometre stretch east of Gleniffer Lake. There the route did not change but the structure.AltaLink's been told to use a monopole structure there.“Instead of big lattice and the almost braided look, it's like a pole,” said Scott Shriner, the director of external engagement for AltaLink.He said the tube will resemble a taller-than-normal telephone pole.Shriner said the other major change is that the AUC approved an alternate route near Crossfield known as the Crossfield Tie option.For the most part, the new line mirrors the one already in place, Shriner said.He said the construction process is set to last two years and they're hoping to start things like tree removal in the new year.He said about 70 per cent of the easements needed for the project have already been negotiated with landowners. They'll be approaching the rest again now that the AUC decision has been released.Because there's already a permit for the line, there won't be an out for landowners to get the line off their land. If they want to fight for different compensation, they'll have to go through the Alberta Surface Rights Board, Shriner said.“Obviously we'd prefer to negotiate,” he said.He said efforts will be made to keep landowners informed on the process as the line gets built.He said the project is estimated to cost $1.5 billion.When asked if reinforcing the transmission system is necessary, he said “Absolutely. It's been more than 30 years since we reinforced the transmission corridor.”He said the Alberta Electrical System Operator identified both the Western Alberta Transmission Line and the Eastern Alberta Transmission Line as needed.The Critical Transmission Review Committee, a panel of experts set up by the government to examine whether the lines were required among other things, also recommended the lines proceed, he pointed out.“There's been a lot of review. All the answers came back as ‘yes,'” he said.As for electricity consumers, he said the estimate is that for an average residential electrical bill the impact will be about $1.50 per month.Joe Anglin, Wildrose MLA for the Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre riding and the official Opposition's critic for environment and utilities, said he thinks the impact will be larger than $1.50.“They keep marginalizing it,” Anglin said of AltaLink and other estimates. He said over the next few years the transmission charges that appear on electricity bills are going to go way up.“When people go to cut the cheque for their electric bill, it's going to be huge,” he said.“People are going to start seeing their electricity bills going up in January,” he said.He said that rather than build the Western Alberta Transmission Line, the eastern side should be reinforced.“You always strengthen the weakest link,” he said.He hasn't heard much reaction about the AUC's decision to approve the route.“There's really no great reaction. No one had any illusion it was going to change,” he said.He pointed out the lines were legislated by the government.“The whole hearing process is sort of an embarrassment,” he said. “The transmission line was wrong when they initially proposed it … it always stayed wrong,” he said.“This isn't needed,” he said.He said the true cost of the transmission projects in Alberta will be higher than originally estimated.
