Hydro One invests millions to build new transformer station

Hydro One Chapple Transformer Station will replace Fort Frances TS, strengthening Ontario transmission reliability with two 115/44 kV transformers in Barwick, Township of Chapple; Environmental Study Report complete, construction starts August with 44 kV spans.

Hydro One is investing $25 million to build the new Barwick Transformer Station TS, in the Township of Chapple to improve the electricity supply and provide more capacity for communities between Rainy River and Fort Frances. The new station is expected to be in-service by August 2014.

Hydro One’s Fort Frances TS is nearing end-of-life and a new station is required to serve customers west of Fort Frances. Investing in the local transmission system, as seen with the Kenora corridor upgrades underway in Northwestern Ontario, will strengthen reliability to both residential and commercial customers. Construction is expected to begin in early August.

“Hydro One is committed to delivering reliable electricity to its customers and this investment to the transmission system allows us to do this,” said Arnold Brakel, Project Manager, Hydro One. “By building a new station in the Township of Chapple, shorter spans of 44 kV power lines will connect customers to our system, similar to the Chesterville transformer upgrade completed elsewhere, ultimately improving the reliability of their power supply.”

An Environmental Study Report ESR was completed and the project has received all of the required approvals for construction to begin, aligning with a recent station refurbishment that underscored similar standards. The new transformer station will consist of two 115,000/44,000 volt transformers and will occupy a 150-metre by 150-metre site located north of Highway 11 and west of Westover Road, in the community of Barwick.

Hydro One delivers electricity safely, reliably and responsibly to homes and businesses across the province of Ontario and owns and operates Ontario's 29,000 km high-voltage transmission network that delivers electricity to large industrial customers and municipal utilities, including the Ontario/Michigan interconnection that strengthens cross-border reliability, and a 122,000 km low-voltage distribution system that serves about 1.3 million end-use customers and smaller municipal utilities in the province. Hydro One is wholly owned by the Province of Ontario, and its Toronto reliability investments demonstrate ongoing commitment to system improvements.

Related News

• Electricity Forum News

• Overhead T&D News