Route chosen for controversial Man. power line

After several years of planning and public consultation, Manitoba Hydro has selected a route for Bipole III – a high voltage transmission line from northern Manitoba to Winnipeg.The crown utility announced July 29 that its preferred route will skirt the west side of Lake Winnipegosis and Lake Manitoba, before cutting across farmland between Portage la Prairie and Winnipeg.It had previously considered routes through Dauphin and west of Riding Mountain National Park.Construction of the 1,364 kilometre hydro line is expected to cost $2.2 billion, with a portion of that going to private landowners along the route. The line’s right of way will be 66 metres wide and Manitoba Hydro will have to negotiate with affected farmers for appropriate compensation.Ian Wishart, president of the Keystone Agricultural Producers, told CBC radio that initial offers have been insufficient.”We have looked at what Hydro has offered … compared it to other provinces and found it quite wanting,” said Wishart.KAP believes the line should be constructed on the east side of Lake Winnipeg. That route would be shorter, cheaper and wouldn’t interfere with productive farmland in the province.Manitoba’s NDP government maintains that building the line east of Lake Winnipeg would destroy the purity of the boreal forest in the region.

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