A power transformer is shown in this January 2023 file photo.--News File Photo
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City officials say they are working with several companies whose combined needs could expand power use by more than 20 per cent, which would strain the entire Medicine Hat power grid.
That is according to an application to locate a new south-side substation – the second attempt to gain approval for MHS-11 substation in the city’s southwest over three years, during which city staff and elected officials have often alluded to power constraints holding up local projects and investment.
The substation was originally rejected last year, partly on the grounds that the city had not proved upgrades were imminently needed.
A new location and new application, filed with the Alberta Utilities Commission on Dec. 20, outlines potential industrial, commercial and residential development, as well as the need to power a future recreation facility in the city’s southend.
“Recent confidential commercial enquiries from developers and entities total a weighted volume of 50 megawatts of potential additional electrical capacity requested systemwide … through 2028,” the application reads. “The existing distribution system could not accommodate that capacity.”
The city’s current power complex has a maximum capacity of 299 megawatts, though it typically supplies 200 MW for internal franchise customers.
An additional 50 MW of demand would equate to adding the equivalent power for another Hut 8 data-processing centre, or three or four major greenhouses, or a half dozen petrochemical plants, or more than 5,000 houses.
That follows several years during which city officials alluded to a lack of transmission capacity holding up commercial inquiries and, specifically, delays in the south-side rec centre planning.
Utility distribution manager Grayson Mauch told the News last fall the city continues to work with developers on their power requirements, but delivery options are limited without upgrades, like the substation.
“We continue to work with developers, but that’s something that we’ve flagged to developers about the power constraints in the south,” he said.
There, the city also expects residential growth of 0.8 per cent annually to be focused largely in the new subdivisions.
The city and Cypress County are also now considering updates to a inter-municipal development agreement affecting areas south of S. Boundary Road.
A long-discussed proposal to locate a new large recreation facility in the city’s south is now moving to planning phase – a council priority in 2025.
The current application deals with distribution, not generation capacity, but similar redundancy requirements are in place.
Specifically, the local grid must be able to satisfy all demand in the franchise area if one its largest pieces of infrastructure is out of service, a situation described as “N-1” or “N-minus-1” – capacity not including its largest unit.
“These additional development opportunities are anticipated to further exacerbate existing N-1 reliability constraints within the southern portions of the franchise area,” the application continues.
“As more residents and businesses require electricity in the near term, the existing infrastructure will not be sufficient to provide power even at N-0 (full capacity) conditions.”
A similar AUC application was denied in 2023 after opponents in two Cypress County communities on the edges of Medicine Hat argued the city hadn’t exhausted other potential sites for the $24-million project.
City engineers say MHS-11 would allow system operators to better manage flow to the city’s southend in lines that run south from the river valley power plant, then east to southend communities. A side benefit however, should be more efficient and responsive shunting of energy throughout the city.
Another project before the UAC is the east-ring power line reinforcement project, which would loop power to provide an alternate route from northeast Crescent Heights to the southend.
Last year, groups of Cypress County residents protested the city’s primary and alternate sites at Highway 3 at the city limits, and kitty-corner from the county hamlet of Desert Blume.
The new preferred location sits north of Gershaw Drive on Range Road 63, one-half mile north of Township Road 122, and an alternate location is located one-half mile east on the neighbouring quarter-section.
The AUC has not released a schedule of how it intends to proceed with the application.
