Hydro One investing $8 million in Blue Mountain and Collingwood this year as
part of the Southern Georgian Bay Reinforcement Plan

TORONTO , Oct. 20 /CNW/ - Hydro One is investing approximately $8 million in infrastructure improvements to its power distribution system between Blue Mountain and Stayner this fall, as part of its overall plan to increase capacity to the Southern Georgian Bay area. Planned work involves pole replacement and line stringing. The project will benefit the Towns of Collingwood and Blue Mountain, and expand capacity for the entire region, including the area's ski hill developments.

"This project will improve reliability both to the towns and the ski resorts and to all our residential and commercial customers in the area, and support the region's ability to grow without service or supply issues," said Laurie Skinner Georgian Bay Area Superintendent Hydro One. "Our investments in Collingwood and Blue Mountain this year, together with the work completed last year in the Stayner area and our planned work for Wasaga Beach all reflect Hydro One's commitment to investing in our system and providing a high level of service to our customers."

The first phase of the project was completed a year ago, when a single circuit 115kV from Barrie to Stayner was replaced by a higher capacity transmission tower line to serve the area. This work represented a local investment of more than $4 million . In addition to this year's work in the Collingwood and Blue Mountain area, a final phase of the upgrade will see the installation of a new 44,000 volt pole line in the Town of Wasaga Beach by 2011, representing a distribution network upgrade investment of approximately $2.7 million . In total, as part of Hydro One's overall capital expenditure program, The Company will invest approximately $15 million in the local distribution system over three years to support growth and reliability.

Construction is currently underway on two new lines from Stayner to Blue Mountain and Collingwood. Much of the installation is being carried out by Hydro One apprentices, working closely with supervisors as they receive valuable hands-on training and experience. This phase of the project is expected to be completed by the end of this November. A number of local suppliers have been engaged in the work as sub-contractors or by providing a variety of services. Work on improvements to serve the Town of Wasaga Beach will begin next year.

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 123,000 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.

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