ESTEVAN - It's not too late for the public to submit feedback as part of the environmental impact assessment phase for a potential SaskPower transmission line project.
SaskPower is proposing the construction of two six-kilometre overhead 230-kilovolt transmission lines south of Estevan. One is in the RM of Estevan and the other is in the RM of Cambria.
The lines would connect a proposed SaskPower switching station to an interconnection point on the Canada-U.S. border with North Dakota, and provide 500 megawatts of transmission service from the Southwest Power Pool to SaskPower.
Joel Cherry, a media relations and issues management consultant with SaskPower, said that to meet power demands in Saskatchewan, the Crown corporation is looking at a variety of options, including small modular reactors in the Estevan area or retrofitting multiple coal-fired power units around Estevan and Coronach to keep them online beyond 2030. Another option SaskPower is looking at is increasing interconnect capacity with the U.S.
This project, if it goes ahead, would increase capacity to 650 megawatts, Cherry said, and give SaskPower access to the Southwest Power Pool (SPP). Saskatchewan can also export power to the U.S. when it has a surplus of electricity.
"The Southwest Power Pool is a collection of power companies across 17 different states in the U.S.," Cherry said.
The transmission lines would tie into North Dakota's grid, but SaskPower's dealings would be with the SPP.
"We're a member of the SPP now. We're their first international member, and we reach an agreement with them for 20 years."
SaskPower has exported power to the SPP in the past, Cherry said.
The two transmission lines are not expected to be completed until 2027.
Cherry said SaskPower has been engaging with landowners and others in the Estevan area since 2023 on this project, and Cherry said the process is ongoing.
"An important part of the process is making sure that we have support from people in the area, and we settle on a route that makes sense from a financial and logistical perspective as well," Cherry said.
The public is invited to provide comments on the environmental impact statement and the Ministry of Environment's technical review comments. These documents outline the provincial environmental assessment process and identify key issues and studies addressed in the statement.
To review project documents, visit the website at saskatchewan.ca/environmentalassessment or the RM of Estevan administrative office. The deadline for written comments is Feb. 11.
