Negotiations ongoing

City still hopes to get in on power cables

Summerside is still hoping to gain access to P.E.I.’s power cables being built to carry electricity to and from the mainland.

Summerside Mayor Bill Martin said negotiations between the city and the province are ongoing and he had no timeframe for when an outcome would be announced.

He did say city staff recently put together an information package full of concerns, objectives and other information for the province. He said the file would be delivered to the province soon and he was eager to hear the response.

“I think everything we’ve asked for is fair and reasonable,” said Martin.

He has compared the power cable project to an electrical super highway, of which Summerside would like a small on and off ramp.

Summerside’s municipal electric utility is the only other provider of power in the province other than Maritime Electric. The city wants to secure access to the power cables in order to get its surplus electricity to higher value markets and wants assurances its supply of electricity, much of which it buys from New Brunswick Power, cannot be pre-empted in favour of Maritime Electric’s demand in case of a problem with supply. The city sees access to the cables as integral to the future of its electrical utility, in which it has invested heavily.

The power cable project itself will see two 180-megawatt undersea power cables built between P.E.I. and New Brunswick to replace the current aging cables.

The province recently announced it secured a commitment from the federal government to cost share the $150-million project, which is already in its initial phase of construction.