Wataynikaneyap Power LP (Wataynikaneyap Power) has announced that it has filed a leave to construct application with the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) to construct and operate the Wataynikaneyap Power Transmission Project.
The $1.6-billion Wataynikaneyap Power Transmission Project is a First Nations-led project to build approximately 1,800 kilometres of transmission lines in Northwestern Ontario to connect 17 First Nations communities to the Ontario power grid. The project will reinforce the existing transmission grid to Pickle Lake and will expand grid service north of Pickle Lake and Red Lake to ultimately connect 17 First Nations communities.
“We are very pleased to see continued progress on the Wataynikaneyap Power Transmission Project. This is an incredibly important project that will provide clean, reliable power to the First Nations communities in Northern Ontario that are currently living off the grid and relying on very expensive, environmentally-unfriendly diesel generators to power their homes and businesses,” said Margaret Kenequanash, CEO of Wataynikaneyap Power.
Filing a leave to construct application under Section 92 is an OEB requirement for any company proposing to build an electricity transmission line in Ontario. The application provides details of the project such as timing, design and costs, and is an OEB requirement for any company proposing to build an electricity transmission line in Ontario.
“Filing the leave to construct application is the next significant milestone in the Wataynikaneyap Project. We are committed to this important project and honoured to work with our 22 First Nations partners in seeing it come to fruition. This filing is a major step forward on that journey,” said Scott Hawkes, president and CEO of FortisOntario Inc. and Wataynikaneyap Power PM Inc.
Based on the project’s current timeline, the work should be completed by the end of 2023.
