Hydro-Québec is inviting the public to attend an open house it is hosting at the Quyon Community Centre on Wednesday, Mar. 26, where representatives will be available to answer questions about the company’s plans to reconstruct a 10-kilometre section of the transmission lines that cross through the municipalities of Pontiac and Bristol.
The 120 kv lines that run between the Quyon and Wyman substations, built in 1929, are nearing the end of their lifespan and need to be upgraded, according to the company.
“According to our preliminary schedule, the construction would begin in the summer of 2027,” Hydro-Québec community relations advisor Marie-Annick Gariépy wrote in an email to THE EQUITY.
She said the public consultation being hosted on Wednesday from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. is the first step in this upgrade process.
“The public consultation that will be held with the owners will help us optimize our project,” Gariépy wrote.
“The new double circuit line will mostly be installed within the current right-of-way in order to minimize its impacts. To ensure safety and continuity of service, the existing right-of-way will have to be widened. We will discuss this with the owners.”
In a Mar. 18 Facebook post, Pontiac MNA André Fortin celebrated the news the crown corporation will be investing in Pontiac’s hydro network, hinting that the work to the Quyon-Wyman line is only the beginning of a series of projects planned for the region.
“The second big project they have is to address the situation in the Upper Pontiac and Mansfield where just about everybody has had enough of power outages,” Fortin later told THE EQUITY, adding he believes Hydro-Québec will announce its plans for the Upper Pontiac sometime in May, once it has had a chance to discuss them with some of its business partners and potentially-affected landowners.
“To me, what they plan to announce is something that will make a permanent and lasting improvement to the services being offered to Upper Pontiac residents.”
He said the news of the planned upgrades is a win, for him and for the many people who have been calling for greater investments in the region’s electrical grid.
“I think recent renewed efforts on my part and on the part of local officials have finally gotten through to Hydro-Québec.”
Gariépy would not confirm any details of plans for upgrades to the Upper Pontiac’s hydro infrastructure, but said residents with questions are encouraged to attend the open house.
