The public electricity supplier finally selected the final variant – the “West D route”.
This variant running along Route 139 to the east had been requested by several local stakeholders, including the City of Granby, the Union of Agricultural Producers (UPA) and several citizens.
Details of the selected route
Remember that the future 230,000 volt (or 230 kV) line will connect the “Montérégie” substation in Sainte-Cécile-de-Milton to the “Pierre-Laporte” substation by 2028 (the current Cleveland substation will be rebuilt and renamed), south of Granby.
According to Hydro-Québec, this is the route that will have the least impact on the community. (Savary, Jerome/Screenshot Hydro-Québec)
The selected route will begin north of the Montérégie substation then head south following the existing 735 kilovolt (kV) line.
Shortly before the Mawcook River, it will pass under the 735 kilovolt (kV) line before crossing the river and joining the existing 120 kV line.
It will continue south, then branch off to follow Route 139 to the east. The route will progress along Route 139 to the junction of existing transmission lines near the Yamaska Nord River.
At this location, it will turn east and then take the right-of-way of an existing line which will be dismantled, up to the new Pierre-Laporte substation.
Hydro-Québec justifies the choice of this route for two main reasons.
This route uses the territory optimally by mostly running alongside infrastructures already present in the area, namely power lines as well as Route 139. It makes it possible to avoid the opening of new corridors, in addition to minimizing deforestation and encroachment into wetlands.
— Hydro-Québec bulletin sent to property owners living near the selected route
“This is also one of the main comments collected during the consultation,” adds Hydro-Québec in its bulletin.
-The second reason is that this route minimizes encroachment on agricultural land.
Mayor Bourdon satisfied
In the City of Granby, we “are super satisfied with the route chosen,” comments Mayor Julie Bourdon on Thursday noon.
“We really feel that we were listened to and we had great collaboration from Hydro-Québec,” she adds.
The routes initially presented by the electricity supplier “did not work”, recalls Julie Bourdon, who underlines “issues for the municipal council, farmers and citizens”.
The mayor also highlights the openness of the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, thanks to which route D was able to take shape.
Mitigation measures still to be defined
“Over the coming months, we will meet with the community and the owners more directly concerned in order to continue the detailed engineering, optimize the project and define the appropriate mitigation measures,” specifies Hydro-Québec in a bulletin that the company sent to property owners living near the chosen route.
This map designates the first four routes that Hydro-Québec presented to the population, in the spring of 2024, at the Castel hotel. None of them were ultimately selected. (Hydro-Quebec)
From the future Pierre-Laporte station (the former Cleveland) the future Cleveland-Waterloo line will also depart, the launch of work on which was conditional on obtaining the green light from the Commission for the Protection of the Agricultural Territory of Quebec (CPTAQ), recalled last fall The Voice of the East.
These two projects, although distinct, are part of a broad electrical modernization plan in Estrie which extends beyond 2035, the Estriens being more numerous and therefore more demanding in electricity.
Virtual meeting on January 30
This new 230 kV line, as well as the construction of the new electrical substation — replacing the current Cleveland substation — corresponds to the fifth stage (out of eight in total) of the plan to modernize the Hydro-Québec electrical network in Estrie.
A virtual meeting will take place on January 30, 2025, from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m., to present the next steps.
