As part of plans to address future growth in northeastern Ontario, the Independent Electricity System Operator’s (IESO) has identified the need for added capacity in the northeast. Once built, will reinforce the transmission system in northeastern Ontario while supporting the growing electricity demands of industries, businesses and residents.
In addition to meeting growing electricity needs, this new line will improve the overall resiliency of the northern Ontario transmission network.
Over the course of the Class EA, we studied each route alternative by collecting data from a variety of sources, such as existing reports and plans, conducting environmental field surveys and technical assessments, as well as engagement opportunities to gather input and feedback.
A weighted multi-criteria decision making analysis was used to evaluate the alternative routes to select a preferred route. The analysis balances project-specific criteria in four equally weighted categories of evaluation criteria: natural environment, socio-economic environment, Indigenous culture, values and land use, as well as technical and cost. Based on the evaluation, route segments 1D and 3B, with a modification at the southern end of 3B to align with the existing Hydro One corridor into Third Line TS, Route 3B ranked highest across all categories and was then selected as the preferred route.
Now that a preferred route has been selected, the Hydro One Real Estate team will work with directly affected property owners to seek voluntary agreements for the property rights needed to construct and operate the project.
Pending project approvals, we are focused on starting construction in 2027 to meet the 2029 in-service date.
Please contact us at community.relations@hydroone.com or 1.877.345.6799 so we can connect you with a representative from our Real Estate team to discuss next steps.
