Electricity Sector in Canada - Transmission

Transmission

The Canadian transmission networks extend over 160,000 km (99,000 mi). The grids generally follow north-south orientations since most population centers in Canada are concentrated in southern regions along the American border while the largest hydroelectric projects are located in scarcely inhabited areas to the north. This particular situation forced Canadian utilities to innovate. In November 1965, Hydro-Québec commissioned the first 735-kilovolt AC power line linking the Manic-Outardes project to the Lévis substation. In 1972, Manitoba Hydro connected generating stations part of the Nelson River Hydroelectric Project to the Winnipeg area through a high voltage direct current power line, the Nelson River Bipole.

The Canadian transmission networks are largely integrated to the continental power grid. The transmission utilities of provinces sharing a border with the United States are taking part in regional reliability organizations such as the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC); the Maritime provinces, Quebec and Ontario are part of the Northeast Power Coordinating Council (NPCC) with utilities in New England and in New York State, Manitoba participates in the Midwest Reliability Organization (MRO), while Alberta and British Columbia are linked to the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC).

Utilities across Canada are making large investments in the maintenance of aging infrastructure and in the construction of new power lines and substations to connect new generation sources to the bulk power system. For instance, Ontario is spending $2.3 billion on a series of transmission projects aimed at connecting new renewable capacity fostered by the Green Energy Act. In Alberta, the AESO is recommending the construction of a $1.83 billion, 240 kV looped system in the southern part of the province to integrate up to 2,700 MW of new wind generation. In Quebec, Hydro-Québec TransÉnergie filed a $1.47 billion investment plan to connect 2,000 MW of new wind generation scheduled to come on-stream between 2011 and 2015.