Hydro One Kicks off Community Drop-in Sessions to Continue Engagement on the St. Thomas Line Project
May 30, 2024
Recently, Hydro One Networks Inc. (Hydro One) announced that it will host community drop-in sessions to continue gathering local knowledge and input on the three proposed route options for the future project.
Beginning May 21, 2024 – and every Tuesday and Wednesday after that until August 28 – community members can walk in or schedule an appointment between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Express & Suites St. Thomas to meet with the St. Thomas Line’s project team and provide their feedback or have their questions answered. Over the next several months, the company will continue to seek feedback through one-on-one meetings with property owners and other stakeholders.
“Incorporating community feedback and knowledge into the planning and design of the proposed transmission line is integral to the project,” said Andrew Spencer, Executive Vice President, Capital Portfolio Delivery, Hydro One. “We take our responsibility and stewardship of our natural resources seriously and work to ensure all of our infrastructure projects are built in a sustainable and environmentally responsible manner, with local interests in mind.”
The proposed St. Thomas Line is expected to power Ontario’s growing electric vehicle industry and support future economic growth in the City of St. Thomas and surrounding communities. Hydro One has started the Class Environmental Assessment (EA) process for the approximately 20 km double-circuit 230 kilovolt (kV) transmission line that would extend from the existing transmission corridor north of Highway 401 in the City of London to the new Centennial Transformer Station in St. Thomas. Contingent on necessary approvals and agreements, the project is expected to be in service in 2027.
During the open house sessions in late February, community members shared their feedback and questions about the potential impacts of the project, which ranged from individual property concerns to the impact on farming operations and ensuring the natural environment remains protected. Feedback, including opportunities to reduce project impacts, would be integrated into the design and development of the project, where possible.
As part of the Class Environmental Assessment (EA), the company will review known technical and environmental considerations by collecting data from a variety of sources such as existing reports and plans, conducting environmental field surveys and technical assessments. Each route would then be evaluated based on the feedback and information collected on their effects to the natural environment, social and economic factors and local cultural heritage features along with each of their technical requirements and cost factors. This evaluation will result in the selection of a preferred route for the transmission line.
Later this year, the company plans to present a preferred route for the new line to the community, along with the rationale for its selection. As part of the EA process, Hydro One will continue to seek feedback about individual property features to determine the preferred route and work to mitigate project impacts.
ADDITIONAL QUOTES
“We look forward to working together with Hydro One as we make progress on building our largest and first overseas gigafactory for sustainable and responsible battery cell manufacturing,” said Sebastian Wolf, Chief Operating Officer of PowerCo. “The development of this new transmission line is a key element in PowerCo’s ambition to power its gigafactories with fossil-free energy.”
“We are excited to be working together with Hydro One and PowerCo to bring more jobs and economic growth to the community and hard-working families of St. Thomas and Elgin County,” said Joe Preston, Mayor of the City of St. Thomas. “The size of this future infrastructure investment is a game changer for our community and Ontario’s EV vision.”
For more information about the project, visit HydroOne.com/StThomasLine.
