York hydro plan awaits approval

York Region is one step closer to what officials hope is an end to its power problems. The Ontario Power Authority submitted its proposal last week to the Ontario Energy Board on how best to satisfy the fastgrowing region’s expanding appetite for electricity. The 52- page report comes after four months of consulting with the public, two more weeks of community feedback, and 18 months of public opposition to previous plans.

Phase one of the two- pronged solution involves upgrading a transformer station in Newmarket and building a new one at Holland Junction in northern King Township. The second half of the plan calls for building a natural gasfired generating plant in northern York Region sometime between 2008 and 2011. When releasing the original proposal two weeks ago, Amir Shalaby, the OPA’s director of system planning, said work on the transformer stations could begin right away, while the generator required OEB approval. OEB spokesperson Paul Ferguson said the board will work quickly to respond to the report.

“ We don’t have a specific timeline, but I don’t imagine it would take a long time before the board comes back with a response.” Bob Chow, the OPA’s director of transmission integration, hopes to hear from the OEB soon.

“ I expect a very early decision,” he said. “( The OEB is) aware of the urgency of the situation.” York Region’s power supply problems first made news in the spring of 2004, when Hydro One and local utilities released a joint study saying that local power consumption was growing by close to seven per cent a year. The study concluded that without access to more electricity, intermittent blackouts would be the norm in York region by 2007. Hydro One’s initial solution — upgrading the transmission line running from Markham to Newmarket — prompted fierce opposition from local citizens and town councils concerned about the impact the lines would have on health and the environment.