In February, the Ontario government fast-tracked a 300-kilometre Hydro One transmission line between Sudbury and Essa, a town near Barrie. Now, Little Otter Lake cottagers and residents fearful of losing their homes are pushing back ahead of route proposals this fall.
Little Otter Lake in Seguin is already home to the Parry Sound Transformer Station, the existing Hydro One 230-kilovolt corridor, and the Henvey Inlet Wind kilovolt line and switching station. But with the province anticipating an 81 per cent increase in energy demand in Ontario’s north by 2050, the thinking is that existing infrastructure will fall short of demand.
The new line will be delivered in two phases: a single-circuit 500-kilovolt transmission line from Barrie to Sudbury expected to be in-service in 2032, followed by a second single-circuit 500-kilovolt line to be completed when more transmission capacity between northern and southern Ontario is needed.
Currently, Hydro One is in the environmental assessment and detailed route planning stage of the project. But Little Otter Lake cottagers became concerned when the study area was reduced from roughly 100 kilometres wide to 40 kilometres wide this July, and they remained inside its shrunken borders.
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Little Otter Lake resident Brenda Ulbikas, who lives just several feet from the existing Hydro One line in Seguin Township, says she’s scared that her property, and her neighbours’ properties, could be expropriated. She feels that the line should avoid the lake altogether. Instead, she wants it to follow the existing windmill route east of the established communities on Little Otter Lake.
“We have too much hydro infrastructure as it stands,” she says. “The fact that an existing corridor is already here should not automatically make this community the preferred location for additional infrastructure.”
Ulbikas represented other Little Otter Lake residents and cottagers at a September 8 Seguin Township council meeting, where she implored council to “take a position and to take it now on where Hydro One puts the Sudbury Barrier Transmission infrastructure while the route is still open for discussion.”
Potentially at risk, she estimated, are 18 properties. “Until Hydro One releases its route alternatives, the exact property impacts are not known, but those who do remain could be looking at cleared land, new access roads, construction activity, and a permanent change to the shoreline and the character of the lake,” she told council.
A spokesperson from Hydro One says proposed route options will be shared before the end of the year, and that affected property owners will be contacted directly. After potential routes are shared, a preferred path will be proposed by 2027, and Ontario Energy Board approval would follow in 2028 or 2029.
In the meantime, the community is doing everything it can to protect themselves. “The uncertainty is already having an impact on all of us,” Ulbikas told council. “Some residents have stopped or delayed building and renovations, others have put off plans to move here full time, and residents are currently seeking legal counsel.”
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At the meeting, Ulbikas asked council to pass a motion asking Hydro One to avoid Little Otter Lake altogether, and, if not possible, to evaluate an eastern route over a western one, which would directly impact property owners on Little Otter Lake.
In response, a task force including representatives from Seguin, the Archipelago, McDougall, and Whitestone was created; the group had an inaugural meeting on September 23. At the meeting, they formulated 12 questions for Hydro One to better understand “exactly how we got to where we are now and to understand how an eastern route through Muskoka was so quickly eliminated,” says Forrest Pengra, Seguin’s director of strategic initiatives.
Pengra says the group exists to advocate for “avoidance of expropriation of properties, avoidance of damage to views, minimization of impact and disturbance to the environment and sensitive locations, and minimization of impacts to communities.”
On Monday, council passed a motion asking Hydro One to avoid the Otter Lake community. Councillors highlighted that Hydro One has not presented documentation to justify the reduction in size of the study area, that lands east of the Muskoka Lakes would be better suited for the project, and that having too many electrical infrastructures in the same area could cause safety issues in the event of a storm of forest fire, among other concerns.
“We continue to host virtual and in-person community open houses and meet directly with municipalities, local organizations and associations, including Seguin Township and the Otter Lake Ratepayers’ Association, and landowners and cottagers on Otter Lake and Little Otter Lake,” says the spokesperson for Hydro One.
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