Southern Alberta landowners involved in a controversial power line installation are hopeful that a potential new owner of the line will improve their situation.
Enbridge Inc., a major energy delivery company based in Calgary, announced plans Aug. 16 to buy the Montana Alberta Tie Ltd. (MATL) line that upon completion will stretch 345 kilometres from Lethbridge to Great Falls, Montana.
Construction of the 300 megawatt line has been mired in disputes with landowners along the route on both sides of the international border, to the point where construction halted in June and MATL announced the need to find another $50 million to complete the project.
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It was initially estimated to cost $209 million when the process started six years ago.
Enbridge, well known for its oil and gas operations across North America, proposes to buy Toronto-based Tonbridge Power Inc., owners of the MATL project, for $20 million, or 54 cents per share, and repay about $50 million in debt incurred during construction so far.
The proposal is subject to Tonbridge shareholder approval and a vote is scheduled Sept. 26.
“We’re hopeful that Enbridge will be easier to deal with,” said Daryl Bennett, a land agent representing about 35 Alberta landowners in disputes with MATL.
“Enbridge may step in and say, ‘well, we don’t want all this hassle and problem,’ and they’ll compensate the landowners for what they’ve gone through, but I don’t know.
“We want to get someone from Enbridge down here and just drive down the line and say, ‘well, this is what you guys bought.’”
Lino Luison, vice-president of financial partnerships for Enbridge, doesn’t rule out that idea.
He said the company is aware of landowner disputes surrounding the MATL line, but it is used to dealing with such issues.
“We do put in place a lot of infrastructure relating to pipelines, and they tend to be long megaprojects, frankly, that cross a lot of jurisdictions.
“We have a long history of building relationships with landowners, so I would see that exact parallel being executed when and if this deal closes at the end of September.”
Luison said meetings with affected landowners are a possibility, although they are unlikely to happen until the deal closes.
“We need to avail ourselves of access to their land and we’re partners for the long term, because these assets don’t just disappear. … Nothing beats open communication with the stakeholders directly,” Luison said.
Dianne Sincennes, a landowner who objected to the location of the line near her Coaldale, Alta., home, became an early spokesperson for a group that objected to line locations and MATL approaches to compensation.
She said news of the potential purchase of MATL by Enbridge gives her hope that the route might be adjusted and compensation rates improved for those directly affected.
Luison said such discussions await deal approval.
The company will be in a better position to examine the issues once it owns it, he said.
When the purchase is finalized, Luison said Enbridge plans to make application for increased capacity to 550 to 600 megawatts from the initial plan of 300 mW.
The change will not require additional poles or wires beyond those originally planned, and the footprint of the line will remain the same, he said.
As well, the MATL management team will be retained because of its expertise in electrical transmission projects. This will be Enbridge’s first foray into electrical transmission, but Luison said it is unlikely to be the last.
Though electricity can flow both ways through the line, once it is completed, Luison said the bulk of electricity will flow into Alberta from Montana’s wind power and other energy projects.
“Alberta has been a net importer of power since 2002. In fact, last year their imports grew by about 10 percent so there’s a substantial need for additional power in Alberta and this line will accommodate Alberta’s needs for new sources of energy.”
He said Enbridge plans to complete construction by the middle of next year and will resume work as soon as possible after the purchase of Tonbridge is complete.
