Hydro One, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, is investing more than $1 million to improve service reliability and accommodate local growth for its customers in the Dundas and Ancaster areas by installing new poles and wires over the next few weeks.
"This project is part of an ongoing program to continually assess the condition of our power delivery system and make significant upgrades to improve overall reliability," said Ken Nicol, Dundas and Guelph Customer Operations Manager for Hydro One. "Hydro One is committed to investing in its system and providing a high level of service for our customers in the Dundas and Ancaster areas and across the province."
Hydro One will replace 60-year old poles adjacent to land owned by the Hamilton Conservation Authority (HCA), to ensure the system is up-to-date for both its customers and the customers of Horizon Utility; which depends on the Hydro One power distribution system.
Hydro One will install special matting and fencing to protect wildlife and plant species in the environmentally sensitive areas. Hydro One toured the site with an HCA ecologist to identify how best to protect plants, soil and wildlife, in recognition that access to one of the work areas crosses Hamilton Conservation Authority lands. Both Hydro One and the HCA agreed to a plan of action with a start date of mid-October, beginning with the installation of matting October 13th, followed by pole replacement activities which will continue into November.
"We are very much aware of the special challenges of completing needed repair work in a sensitive environmental area, and all of our work methods are designed to minimize our footprint," said Nicol. "We have been working cooperatively with the Hamilton Conservation Authority staff to ensure the work will enhance power reliability while considering the local environment."
The investment is needed to replace some of the oldest hydro poles in the region, some dating back to 1946, and to ensure overgrown vegetation does not fall into power lines during poor weather. Hydro One will replace the old structures with a more modern pole system which has a smaller footprint than the old poles, thus reducing the actual number of poles and structures in the HCA by one third.
The HCA will post signs indicating pathways closed for safety reasons during the work. While working in the area, Hydro One will assist the HCA by removing dead trees and branches along the main access path to make the conservation area safer for visitors.
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, and a 125,000-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.
