EDMONTON

Information sessions to be held about Heartland Transmission Project

ctvedmonton.ca Published Wednesday, March 3, 2010 2:59PM MST

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Residents looking for more information about the high voltage Heartland Transmission Line will be able to attend information sessions starting this month.

Starting March 16, the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) will be holding information sessions at six locations throughout Edmonton and area to explain residents can participate in the process.

The Heartland Transmission Project involves the construction of a high voltage transmission line, which will connect the Heartland region, northeast of Fort Saskatchewan to existing transmission facilities.

Epcor has said the corridor would draw from existing power-lines in south Edmonton, and then run along the eastern boundary of the city and north. The project will also consider burying 20 kilometres of the 60-kilometre line that would start from Ellerslie to Baseline Road on the edge of Sherwood Park.

Both the province and Epcor have said that the power-lines are needed to deal with a growing electricity need in Alberta.

Residents in both Edmonton and on the outskirts of the city, have argued that if the power-lines are needed, they should all be buried in order to protect nearby homes from electromagnetic fields.

The Alberta Utilities Commission still has the final say regarding the project. The Heartland Project team expects to file its application in the spring.

In addition, an alternate route has also been planned, which is west that will pass to the east of Spruce Grove, to the west and north of Morinville, then east to the Heartland region.

Details of the six information sessions are as follows: