Supplied TC Energy A proposed loop on the Nova Gas Transmission Line could be built in 2022 and increase capacity for delivery to the City of Medicine Hat.
TC Energy is providing a timeline to build a new natural gas pipeline to Medicine Hat three months after the city’s utility company entered into new supply agreements to expand deliveries.
The new 24-inch line will be added as a loop on the existing line on the Nova Gas Transmission system that already runs through Cypress County and brings gas to the city’s north end.
TC energy officials outlined the project to county officials on Tuesday morning in Dunmore, stating that construction in later 2022 could employ 500 workers.
That date is consistent with a timeline estimated in December when the News was first to report that a formal supply agreement had been signed by the city utility as a condition of moving ahead with the line.
The new loop would run about 64 kilometres from near Schuler to Medicine Hat compressor station located five kilometres north of city limits near Box Springs Road.
The company, formerly known as TransCanada Pipelines, plans to apply for permits later this year for the existing route, though an alternate route could see it diverge more westerly at Vale along another existing right-of-way.
Mainline work would start in the summer of 2022 ahead of a planned in-service date in the spring of 2023.
At that point, general growth in local demand will put strain on the system’s capacity, utility officials told the News following the signing of a 15-year take-or-pay contract that underpins the final go-ahead decision to build the line.
The increased volume accounts for general growth and the potential for the city to supply a proposed expansion of the municipally owned north-side power plant.
High pressure gas from the NGTL already powers the existing single-generator plant. As well, imported gas is used for general distribution during high-demand periods in the winter months.
City officials also stated that a move to shut down 2,000 low-production wells in the city’s exploration and production company would not affect local gas supply, and played no part in the decision to expand deliveries.
