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The group charged with ensuring that Ontario has a reliable power grid says that a new power line connecting Thunder Bay to Atikokan may soon be needed because of the growing demand for electricity. electricity.
"Over the next 20 years, we see a potential need for new sources of supply in the North, particularly given the work in progress … around the expansion of the mining sector, including mining. Circle of Fire, "said Terry Young, Vice President of the Independent Power System Operator (IESO). "We see a need, a potential need, for new transmission facilities."
The new line will call the Northwest Bulk Line, and the IESO is asking Hydro One to do some preliminary work on the cost, route and construction schedule for the line, Young said.
"The idea is to prepare ourselves better, so that if we were to go ahead with this new line, we did all the advanced work needed," said Young.
The Northwest Bulk Line, if constructed, would help transfer Thunder Bay's energy surplus, routed via the east-west trunk line, to other areas of the region, based on needs, said Young.
"It really depends on what is happening in the development of the northwest," he said. "If we witness a rapid expansion of the mining sector, we will see a new demand for electricity."
"We see that these needs could appear as early as the early 2020s. What we are trying to do now is to be as ready as possible to respond to them."
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