ATCO partnership wins $1.43 billion competitive transmission project

Alberta PowerLine is a $1.43B, 500 kV transmission line delivering grid capacity from Wabamun to Fort McMurray, with ATCO and Quanta Services providing EPC, route planning, and 35-year operations and maintenance.

CALGARY, Alberta – Following a worldwide competitive process, Alberta PowerLine, a partnership between ATCO and Quanta Services, has been selected by the Alberta Electric System Operator AESO to design, build, own, operate and finance the Fort McMurray West 500-kilovolt kV Transmission Project.

Alberta PowerLine is 80 percent owned by Canadian Utilities Limited, an ATCO company, and 20 percent owned by Quanta Services. Valued at $1.43 billion, the Alberta PowerLine project was awarded through Alberta’s recently instituted competitive bidding process in Alberta.

“We are pleased to have come out on top in this international competition to build and operate this critical piece of transmission infrastructure Alberta transmission line to help meet the growing demand for electricity in our province,” said Sett Policicchio, President, ATCO Electric, Transmission. “We worked very hard to submit a bid that provided the best possible infrastructure solution at the lowest possible cost to Albertans—a commitment we make every day to millions of customers in delivering electricity and natural gas services across the province.”

Under the partnership, Valard Construction, a Canadian subsidiary of Quanta, will provide turnkey EPC services for the project while ATCO Electric, an ATCO company, will be responsible for route planning and operations and maintenance of the transmission facilities for 35 years. ATCO and Valard are both made-in-Alberta companies with a decades-long relationship successfully building northern Alberta’s electricity infrastructure and major transmission projects together.

The project consists of approximately 500 kms of 500 kV transmission line that was recently approved for construction by Alberta authorities and associated facilities running from Wabamun west of Edmonton to Fort McMurray. The AESO has estimated that the demand for electricity in northeastern Alberta will more than double over the next 10 years. This project will increase the capacity of the electricity system and help to ensure that this economically vital area of the province has the power it needs.

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