AltaLink announces new training facility for linemen

AltaLink Line Training Facility offers non-energized, full-scale transmission line training near Langdon, Alberta, enhancing high-voltage safety, maintenance skills, and grid reliability for crews maintaining complex electric infrastructure across the province, reducing risk.

AltaLink has announced plans to build an innovative training facility in southern Alberta. This facility is aimed to improve safety for Alberta's transmission linemen and contribute to a more reliable electric system for Albertans.

"Our employees are responsible for maintaining 12,000 kilometres of transmission lines. Currently, they train on energized facilities connected to Alberta's electric system, including projects like the Heartland Project that exemplify large-scale infrastructure. This training facility will allow our employees to practice highly specialized maintenance activities and safety procedures on 19 full-scale non-energized transmission structures," says Dennis Frehlich, AltaLink's Chief Operating Officer.

The AltaLink Line Training Facility, proposed to be located southwest of the hamlet of Langdon, will be the first transmission focused training facility in Alberta, as Alberta considers a new transmission planning strategy to guide future development.

For the people working to maintain and restore high voltage transmission lines across this province, including complex connections like the Harmattan Energy Centre that require specialized expertise, this type of work brings certain challenges and risks. This facility will provide an important opportunity to train those people to safely perform this complex and challenging work.

"My foremost concern through my career - which ranged from being on the high lines to managing all the crews - was the on the job safety of myself and my colleagues," says Kevin Strangway, former lineman and director of field operations at AltaLink.

"We face ever growing pressure to keep the lights on in a province with a booming population and extreme weather. Albertans expect and deserve reliable electricity amid a grid in critical condition that strains operations, and we work hard to ensure they get it. Being able to learn and train in a managed and safe environment will go a long way to easing that pressure," he adds.

AltaLink's transmission system efficiently delivers electricity to 85 of Albertans even as the province prepares for a transmission overhaul that will modernize infrastructure. Dedicated to meeting the growing need for electricity, AltaLink connects Albertans to renewable, reliable and low-cost power. With a commitment to community and environment, AltaLink is ensuring the transmission system will support Albertans' quality of life for years to come. Learn more at www.altalink.ca.

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