Toronto: The Ontario Energy Board announced August 7 its choice of Upper Canada Transmission Inc., which uses the trade name NextBridge Infrastructure, as the transmitter to complete development work for the East-West Tie Line. The East-West Tie Line is to be a new 400 kilometer electricity transmission line running from Thunder Bay to Wawa Ontario, and reinforcing the existing line that connects the North West part of Ontario’s electricity system with the balance of the system. Upper Canada Transmission Inc. is a joint venture between NextEra Energy Canada ULC, and subsidiaries of Enbridge Inc. and Borealis Infrastructure Management.
The Board held a public hearing to select the designated transmitter from six competing proposals.
The East-West Tie Line is intended to improve the reliability of electricity supply in Northwestern Ontario by increasing the amount of electricity that can be transferred between the transmission system in the Northwest and the rest of Ontario. The Ministry of Energy identified the East-West Tie Line as a priority project in its Long Term Energy Plan.
Designation does not mean the East-West Tie Line will be built. NextBridge must complete the development work and bring an application to the Board for approval to construct the line. Another public hearing will be held at that time.
NextBridge has an approved development budget of up to $22.2 million. NextBridge is required by the OEB’s decision to meet certain milestones and to report its progress on a regular basis. The company’s estimated cost to build the line is $397 million for its currently preferred plan. The projected in service date is in 2018.
Six transmitters applied for designation. The Board assessed the proposals using criteria that were identified in advance. The Board also considered input from a variety of groups, including consumers, municipalities, First Nations and Métis while assessing the applications. NextBridge’s proposal ranked the highest.
Upper Canada Transmission Inc. (UCT) was specifically created by NextEra Energy Canada ULC (NextEra) to participate in the Ontario transmission market and to provide the OEB and Ontario ratepayers with the benefits of transmission infrastructure developed through a competitive process.
In mid-2012 each of Enbridge Inc. and Borealis Infrastructure Management Inc. began working with UCT on the EWT Line Project, and in December 2012 each acquired from NextEra a 25% interest in UCT, through Enbridge Transmission Holdings Inc. (ETHI) and Borealis EWT Inc. (BEWTI) respectively. UCT adopted the trade name NextBridge Infrastructure, to reflect the considerable strengths of these three large, global energy and infrastructure businesses.