By Lisa Goudy
A lot of power is planned to flow from Moose Jaw to the new K+S Potash Canada Ltd.’s new potash mine site near Bethune announced last week.
SaskPower is proposing to build a permanent 230-kilovolt transmission line from Pasqua Switching Station east of Moose Jaw to the mine site 8.5 kilometres northeast of Buffalo Pound Provincial Park. On Thursday, SaskPower had a public open house at the Moose Jaw Sportsman’s Centre to provide information about the project.
“We want to start talking to land owners and other interest groups and whoever else might be in that vicinity and start talking to them about: 'Is this a spot where this one could work?'” said Bernie Bolen, the manager of stakeholder engagement at SaskPower. “We can tell a lot from the satellite photo and various things, but until you actually talk to people who are living there and working and building stuff and the R.M. is zoning stuff so until you actually start talking to people you don’t know for sure what’s going on.”
The transmission line project is a partnership with K+S, known as the Legacy project. Christine Stass, communications specialist with K+S, said the project is moving according to plan.
“(The transmission lines are) going to be essential,” said Stass. “I don’t imagine the project would be able to go forward if we didn’t have power to the project.”
The open house was part of the first round of public consultation after SaskPower conducted a study to determine the best route selection. Bolen said SaskPower talked to the Rural Municipality and city councils earlier this month and is beginning to talk to land owners.
Construction of the line is set to be from November 2013 to April 2014. Energization of the line is set for December 2014.
For more information, see an upcoming edition of the Times-Herald.
