Hydro One to spend $10 million on pole replacement
NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO - Hydro One has completed more than half of the pole and arm replacements scheduled on its 230 kV wood pole transmission structures in Northwestern Ontario for this year.
Forty Hydro One workers, with the help of about 15 apprentices, replaced poles and arms on 176 structures on the 230 kV power line from Atikokan to Manitoba. An additional 120 wood pole structures located between Kenora,
Dryden and Fort Frances are also scheduled for replacement later this year. Hydro One will invest approximately $10 million this year on the upgrades.
This investment is just a portion of the replacements planned in Northwestern Ontario over the next five years.
"This project is part of an ongoing program to continually assess the condition of our power system and make significant upgrades to improve overall reliability," said Carmine Marcello, VP, Asset Management, Hydro One. "This work is a reflection of Hydro One's proactive approach to monitoring and improving the transmission system in the Province."
For this project, a new technique is being used to determine if replacement of the structure is necessary. Each pole is tested by drilling into an arm on the structure from a helicopter. A helicopter equipped with an Airstair, a framework that attaches to the undercarriage of the helicopter and allows for safe access to the transmission lines, is used to test and replace poles.
Work on the line from Atikokan to Manitoba started on January 26 and finished on March 9. Across the province, approximately $254 million is invested annually into replacing 115 and 230 kV wood pole power line structures. Two Ontario-based companies are supplying the wood poles and steel arms for this project.
Related News

Transmission constraints impede incremental Quebec-to-US power deliveries
MONTREAL - With roughly 37,000 MW of installed hydro power capacity, Quebec has ample spare capacity that it would like to deliver into Northeastern US markets where ambitious clean energy goals have been announced, but expanding transmission infrastructure is challenging.
Register Now New York recently announced a goal of receiving 100% carbon-free energy by 2040 and the New England states all have ambitious greenhouse gas reduction goals, including a Massachusetts law requiring GHG emissions be 80% below 1990 levels by 2050.
The province-owned company, Hydro Quebec, supplies power to the provinces of Quebec, Ontario and New Brunswick, as well as sending electricity…