As Hydro One prepares to install new infrastructure to meet the rising demand for power, people living in Waterloo Region got their chance to have their say. The utility held an open house in Cambridge on Tuesday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. to hear from residents who may be impacted by plans for a project known as the Waterloo Wellington Power Line project. Hydro One said the Independent Electricity System Operator, a Crown corporation responsible for managing Ontario’s power system, recommended a new 500/230-kilovolt (kV) transformer station in Puslinch and a new double-circuit 230-kV transmission line. The line would stretch between the proposed station and the existing Preston transformer station in Cambridge, a distance of approximately 25 km. “The need for electricity is expected to increase significantly across Cambridge, Kitchener, Brant and Brantford over the next 20 years,” Hydro One’s website states. “More people and businesses are using electricity every day. Hydro One is investing now to improve reliability while preparing the region for future electricity needs.” An interactive map showing four different route options for the proposed line is available online as part of the class environmental assessment process. “We assess based on four key areas under the Environmental Assessment Act,” Sonny Karunakaran, vice president of strategic projects and partnership for Hydro One said. “Looking at the socio-economic factors, it’s looking at the natural/environmental considerations, it’s looking at Indigenous values and land use and then giving technical and cost considerations.” Officials will be considering feedback from residents and businesses, environmental and technical data and input from Indigenous communities as they move forward. “The feedback is a very important part of how we develop our projects. Under the Environmental Assessment Act, we have what we call a Class Environmental Assessment where we produce an environmental studies report,” Karunakaran said. “All the information from these open houses, from any individual meetings, any feedback that we receive via email, the web and so forth, will be documented with the records of consultation, including how we’ve actually come up with the selection of the preferred route.” Once a route is selected, Hydro One may approach property owners to negotiate a deal for their land. “Our dealings with actually obtaining land rights to host transmission lines across the province have been very successful in yielding voluntary settlements. We built a project very recently, the Chatham to Lakeshore project in southwest Ontario, where we had 100 per cent voluntary settlement. It required a fair bit of outreach and work with each of the landowners, we had to make a few modifications to some aspects of the route and where we actually located structures, but typically, what we find is that we will continue to work through and you generally will find a solution,” Karunakaran explained. A second open house is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 17 from 4 p.m. until 7 p.m. at the Puslinch Community Centre on Brock Road South. Construction isn’t expected to start until 2029, with hopes to start putting power through the line in 2032.
