Hydro-Quebec hosts open house on new Pontiac substation, transmission lines
Hydro-Quebec hosts open house on new Pontiac substation, transmission lines
On Tuesday (May 27), representatives of Hydro-Québec held an open house at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Fort-Coulonge regarding some big upgrades that they have planned for Pontiac’s electrical grid.
The crown corporation plans to construct a new substation in the Fort-Coulonge/Mansfield region, as well as a set of high voltage transmission wires for the roughly 30 km between the new substation and the existing Cadieux substation in Bryson. There are also improvements planned for the Cadieux facility. While its still too early for exact figures, the ballpark cost is estimated to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
HQ community relations representative Caroline Milliard explained that they were looking for feedback from the community on things like the location of the new substation, which will require roughly 2.5 hectares, as well as the route of the transmission lines. She said that the aim of the project is to improve service in the Upper Pontiac, which is typically synchronized with the Ontario power grid, and has experienced frequent outages for years.
Milliard said that the timeline of the project is about five years, with 2025/26 devoted to consultation with the public, and technical studies. 2026-28 will be for government approvals, with construction expected to start in 2028 and last until 2030.
Mansfield-et-Pontefract Mayor Sandra Armstrong was present at the open house and said she was pleased that progress is being made on this long-standing file.
A PDF of the area being studied is available here.
More information is available here.
