Remote communities a step closer to being linked to Ontario power grid
Wataynikaneyap Power appointed to complete project linking Northern communities to Ontario power grid
Efforts to link Ontario's remote Northern communities to the provincial power grid reached a milestone today as the provincial Liberals named Wataynikaneyap Power as the transmission company tasked with completing the $1.35-billion project.
"This is a big milestone for our project, because it will enable us to actually move forward," said Margaret Kenequanash, chair of Wataynikaneyap Power. "There's more work to be done, obviously, but this becomes more of a reality."
"It's very exciting."
Currently, remote First Nations communities rely on diesel generators for power, which are environmentally harmful and expensive.
The generators also affect living conditions, as residents live under electrical load restrictions and new homes cannot be connected to community power supplies.
And, Kenequanash said, diesel generation limits the ability of communities to pursue new businesses and economic opportunities.
Wataynikaneyap Power aims to begin construction on the project's first phase — a 300-kilometre transmission line to Pickle Lake — in 2018.
Construction on phase two, which includes a 1,500 kilometre line connecting remote First Nations north of Pickle Lake and Red Lake, should begin by 2020, Kenequanash said.
Wataynikaneyap Power is owned by 20 First Nations communities, electrical utility FortisOntario and construction firm RES.