Proposed Heartland Transmission Project 

The Heartland Transmission Project Team (EPCOR and AltaLink) has selected the East TUC (Transportation/Utility Corridor) Route as the preferred route and the West Route as the alternate for its 500-kV transmission project.

Field evaluations and extensive public consultation efforts have revealed that these routes present the least overall impact based on seven factors: visual impact, environment, residences, agriculture, cost, electrical consideration and special constraints.

These routes will be included in a Facility Application to be filed in the fall with the Alberta Utilities Commission, which will make the final decision on routing and whether any part of the line will go underground.

On February 24, 2010, the AESO-commissioned underground study was released to the public. The study determined that an underground cable system is technically feasible but highlighted the need for cold weather cable testing.

The Heartland Transmission Project Team expects to file its Facility Application with the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) in the fall of 2010. The Facility Application will also include technical and cost information on underground transmission for a 20 km section of an underground transmission line within the East Transportation/Utility Corridor (TUC).

The Routes and How They Were Chosen

The Heartland Team has selected preferred and alternate transmission line routes. To view a map of the preferred and alternate transmission line routes, please refer to the Heartland Project’s January 2010 Newsletter.

Preferred: East TUC Route. Approximately half of this route uses the Transportation/Utility Corridor (TUC) on the east side of Edmonton, then travels generally northeast to the Heartland region.

Alternate: West Route. This route passes to the east of Spruce Grove, to the west and north of Morinville, then east to the Heartland region.

The Heartland Team received extensive feedback from stakeholders through nearly 3,000 one-on-one consultations plus discussions at open houses, information centres, as well as presentations to stakeholder groups. Comments were also received through hundreds of e-mails, letters, and phone calls.

Please refer to the Heartland Project’s January 2010 Newsletter for more information on timelines and the AUC process.

Contact Information

E-mail:PublicConsultation@heartlandtransmission.ca
Phone: (780) 441-7192 (local) | 1-888-441-7192 (toll free)
Heartland Transmission Project
P.O. Box No. 11547
Edmonton, AB
T5J 2T6