A substation located in Medicine Hat's north end gives an idea of what the southwest project could look like. Eli J. Ridder/CHAT News

By Eli J. Ridder

WHAT TO KNOW

Medicine Hat holding open houses on proposed substation

Oct 2, 2024 | 10:07 AM

The City of Medicine Hat is holding a pair of public open houses to gather feedback on its proposed southwest substation.

They will run from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Oct. 15 and from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Oct. 16 at Desert Blume Golf Course.

The two sessions are part of a consultation process before the city submits its preferred and alternate locations for the substation.

The project team may make adjustments to the site designs and develop mitigation plans based on the public’s input.

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However, it does anticipate the two sites will be provided to the provincial regulator — the Alberta Utilities Commission — for consideration.

There is an approved capital budget of $24 million for the substation.

If the utilities commission grants approval for the project, the city would move ahead with a detailed design that would give a more defined dollar figure that would require city council approval.

City staff are hoping to submit a project application this fall, receive a positive AUC decision early in 2025 and potentially start construction in early 2026.

The substation would be completed by the end of 2027 should there be no delays.

Residents can find the latest information on the substation on its Shape Your City page.

Learning from first attempt

The city’s last proposal for a southwest substation failed in 2023.

Plans for the substation began back in 2019 when the city began its site evaluation and cost estimations in southwest Medicine Hat to meet growing electricity needs.

The city filed a regulatory application for approval to construct the substation in June 2022.

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READ: Substation for Medicine Hat denied by Alberta Utilities Commission

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The plan was to build the substation either near Highway 3 or near South Boundary Road at the entrance to Desert Blume.

The Alberta Utilities Commission denied the application.

The city’s director of utility distribution systems, Grayson Mauch, says Medicine Hat has learned from the failed application.

“We believe that we have found two locations that are viable and have mitigated as many of the impacts as we practically can,” Grayson told CHAT News.

Why is it needed?

A new substation in the south end of Medicine Hat is required to address distribution congestion that occurs during peak demand times, Mauch said.

The substation will provide additional capacity in the south end of the city with a pair of clear benefits, he added.

Grayson Mauch, the city’s director of utility distribution systems, says a new substation would bring added benefits to the south end of Medicine Hat. Eli J. Ridder/CHAT News

The first is to deal with emergency situations. If a power line gets damaged, an additional substation will allow the city to reduce the outage time by redirecting power through the system, reducing impact on customers.

The second benefit will enable increased economic development in the south end.

“The intent of the substation really is to increase that level of resiliency in our distribution system and enable that ongoing growth throughout the whole south of the city,” Mauch said.