Hydro to face another hearing about transmission line to U.S. border
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 03/01/2018 (3217 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Manitoba Hydro will have to undergo a new round of public hearings before receiving federal approval to construct a 213-kilometre, $453-million power-transmission line to the Minnesota border to expedite exports.
Late last month, the federal cabinet approved a National Energy Board recommendation that more hearings take place to weigh the merits of the project. The NEB sought a more elaborate approval process in part, to ensure that affected Indigenous communities were properly consulted.
Manitoba Hydro had argued a new round of public consultations would duplicate work already carried out by Manitoba’s Clean Environment Commission, which held hearings last year that included input by First Nations and the Manitoba Metis Federation, among other groups.
In August, Hydro president Kelvin Shepherd wrote to Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr expressing concern that further hearings would cause unwarranted project delays.
Hydro had hoped the NEB would conduct a technical assessment of the project and issue a permit to build the transmission line, avoiding further hearings; instead, the NEB recommended a process in which it would conduct hearings and file a report to cabinet, which would then decide the power line’s fate.
Hearing dates have not been set.
On Wednesday, Hydro refused to comment in detail about the potential ramifications of the cabinet decision, saying it was still working towards an in-service date for the transmission line for sometime in 2020.
However, in a submission to the NEB on Dec. 28, Hydro took issue with the regulator’s timetable for completing a review. While the process is guaranteed to take no longer than 15 months, the NEB decides when the clock starts — the date in which it is satisfied a proponent’s application is complete.
To Hydro’s surprise, the regulator started the 15-month clock on Dec. 21, giving until March 2019 to complete the process.
Hydro asked for clarification as to how the NEB came up with its date.
“This issue is of importance to Manitoba Hydro given the need to commence construction during the winter season beginning December 2018 in order to achieve the proposed in-service date (for the transmission line),” the Crown corporation wrote.
The proposed 500-kilovolt transmission line would run from the Dorsey converter station northwest of Winnipeg to the village of Piney at the American border, where it would link up with a U.S. transmission line.
larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca