Dear Editor:
It appears MLA Joe Anglin is totally confused or is trying to confuse the public with the idea the government will be funding the transmission lines. To start with, the electrical infrastructure in this province is rate-based not tax-based, meaning the cost of this will be added to our monthly electrical energy bills and will not be coming out of government coffers. The Progressive Conservative government’s role in this fiasco was to pass legislation allowing these lines to be built without first proving the need — not to spend tax dollars buying land and building transmission lines.
I am not in favour of any electrical transmission line, AC or DC, if it is not needed. However, if it is needed, I would be more inclined to lean toward having a DC line rather than the alternative.
A few reasons being:
• less line loss
• fewer health problems (human and livestock)
• capacity can be increased without erecting more towers and stringing more conductors.
Mr. Anglin is now questioning the government on the cost of the HVDC lines. Where was his concern about the cost of the DC line in 2008-09 when he was a proponent for it? If Mr. Anglin were the transmission engineer he touts himself to be, he would have done a cost analysis of the project back then, thereby knowing it would cost far more electricity than an AC facility.
Remember he was the one who took full credit for advancing the HVDC argument with respect to the 500 KV line.
Jim Vetsch