City seeking to double size of NW power plant

By Medicine Hat News on July 24, 2019.

The City of Medicine Hat has formally applied to double the size of the northwest power plant, according to documents released Tuesday by the Alberta Utility Commission.

The proposed “Unit 17” generator would be added to the site near Box Springs Road with the natural gas powered turbine adding 44 megawatts of production capacity to a similarly sized unit there that was brought online in late 2017.

Since that time, however, two large industrial power supply contracts have blocked off most of the production. Last spring, local administrators told the News that after studying options to add new capacity, twinning the facility was the preferred option.

They also stated that they would begin the sometimes-lengthy licensing and regulatory application process this summer to be able to expedite the project once it was needed.

City council will still have to approve the project, which could be worth $45 million, if regulatory approval is obtained. This month, council amended several financing bylaws to accommodate upscaling a nearby substation that is currently under construction and some other work on the existing generators, Unit 16.

On the new matter, the AUC is accepting written submissions from those who might be affected by the project, designated as proceeding No. 24406, until Aug. 13.

That commission could approve the project in short order after that date depending on the feedback received.