Hydro One is proposing to construct a new double-circuit 230 kilovolt transmission line between our Lambton Transformer Station, located in St. Clair Township and our Chatham Switching Station, located in the Municipality of Chatham-Kent.
To support this growth in southwest Ontario, the IESO requested Hydro One begin development work in March 2021 to build a new transmission line between our Lambton Transformer Station in and Chatham Switching Station.
Since February 2022, we’ve sought feedback and completed studies to identify and evaluate five route alternatives to select a preferred route. Input from Indigenous communities and residents, agencies and the public has been crucial, as well as environmental, technical, and other considerations, in determining the preferred route for the new line.
We used this data to evaluate the route alternatives and select a preferred route that balances the natural and socio-economic environments, technical and cost considerations, and Indigenous culture, values and land use.
Your feedback is important to the successful development this new transmission line. Since the beginning, we heard from residents through meetings, email, phone, workshops, community open houses and surveys/comment forms. The local knowledge we have received about the environment, including the natural and socio-economic environment, helped us to select a route that minimizes adverse effects to the environment. On balance, the route scored favorably in the natural environment, Indigenous culture, values and land use and socio-economic areas.
Our goal is to continue hearing as much local input as possible about the project so that we can work towards building a line that community members and property owners can see their feedback reflected in.
Please provide feedback at anytime by contacting Hydro One Community Relations at Community.Relations@HydroOne.com or 1-877-345-6799.
With the selection of a preferred route, we can begin the detailed engineering design, which will influence the size, location and number of towers required, as well as the right-of-way width.
That said, Hydro One has been powering southwestern Ontario for over 100 years and we know the typical right-of-way required for a 230-kilovolt transmission line is approximately 46 metres in width. We also anticipate the typical tower footprint will range from 6 metres x 6 metres to 12 metres x 12 metres, depending on the tower design. The typical tower height is influenced by environmental conditions like topography, and we anticipate will range between 30 metres and 60 metres.
We know the important role farmers have in supporting Ontario’s economy and we are committed to minimize potential affects to agricultural operations during and after construction. These measures, as outlined in Chapter 7 of the Environmental Study Report include, using existing access as much as possible and building new roads to the minimum length and width, avoid and protect tile drains, proactively communicate work activities with farmers that may disturb livestock and consult on mitigation measures such as moving or containing the livestock, restore land following construction activities.
