230/25-kV Bonsecours Substation and 230-kV Supply Line Conversion of the 49-kV System in

GENERAL INFORMATION • UPDATE • WINTER 2019

Current situation The project area is currently supplied by a 49-kilovolt (kV) system that was built in the 1940s by the Southern Power Company. Due to growth in the region’s electricity demand, this system has reached its maximum capacity. Hydro-Québec must increase the system’s capacity to meet the region’s future requirements. This project is part of the plan to convert Estrie’s 49-kV system, which began with the 2016 commissioning of the new 120/25-kV Adamsville substation in Bromont.

Given the significant increase in the number of requests from new customers over the past year, Hydro-Québec has decided to begin developing a 230-kV system to ensure it will be able to meet the region’s long-term needs.

Recommended solution The project will involve building a new 230/25-kV substation between the Lawrenceville and substations and connecting it to the grid with a 230-kV supply line. The equipment is to initially operate at 120 kV. Extending for some 20 km, the future line will connect the new substation to Stukely substation in Stukely-Sud. The 49-kV Lawrenceville and Valcourt substations, as well as sections of the existing 49-kV lines will then be dismantled.

The project will also require: • Additions and changes to the distribution system to connect local customers to the new substation, including conversion of the 25-kV facilities belonging to Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP) • Related work at Stukely substation • Converting the existing 120-kV Cleveland–Waterloo line to 230 kV in the neighboring regional county municipalities (MRCs) of Brome-Missisquoi and La Haute-Yamaska. Study area The study area covers 143 km2 and includes five municipalities in the Le Val-Saint-François MRC : Valcourt, Canton de Valcourt, Lawrenceville, Bonsecours and Sainte-Anne-de-la-Rochelle ; as well as two municipalities in the Memphrémagog MRC : Stukely-Sud and Eastman.

The study area was selected to encompass all landscape, natural and human environment features liable to be affected by the project.

Technical and environmental studies In the last few months, Hydro-Québec has implemented technical studies and detailed environmental inventories whose focus is local plants and wildlife, waterways, land use, scenery, archaeology and surface material. These activities are aimed at deepening our understanding of the host environment and will continue throughout the coming months. Once the studies are complete, the project team will identify potential line routes and substation locations, which will then undergo comparative analyses based on environmental, technical and economic criteria. Hydro-Québec will also organize public consultations at various project stages to determine the solution with the least impact. Main environmental issues In light of the information currently available, the main environmental concerns associated with the project are: • The likelihood of crossing areas used for recreation and tourism • The need to integrate the line into protected farmland • The visual impact of the line • The presence of maple stands

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BROME-MISSISQUOI M M (MRC) 72°25' 72°20' 72°15' Bolton-Est, M Document for information purposes only. For any other use, please contact Géomatique at Hydro-Québec Innovation, équipement et services partagés. 3 Public participation Project development phases Favorable reception from local communities is an essential condition DRAFT DESIGN for Hydro-Québec projects. As a result, Studies and public consultation Spring 2018 – summer 2019 the company will implement a public participation and consultation process PROJECT to ensure that project studies are carried out in collaboration with the Permitting 2019–2020 host communities. The company will Construction 2021–2022 thus be able to take into account the concerns and expectations expressed Commissioning 2022 by the public and by key stakeholders so as to adapt the project as best as Dismantling of the 49-kV structures 2023 possible to local realities.

Tangible support for community development Hydro-Québec’s projects provide an opportunity to participate in the host communities’ development. For more information Funding is made available to eligible organizations through Hydro-Québec’s Estrie-Montérégie Integrated Enhancement Program Info-project line (IEP) for community improvement projects relating to the environment, 1 8 7 7 6 5 3-1 1 3 9 municipal, community or recreational NADINE JEANNOTTE infrastructures, or regional or Advisor – Community Relations – Estrie and tourism development. Montérégie Direction – Affaires régionales et collectivités 705, boul. Clairevue, 1er étage Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville (Québec) J3V 6B6 [email protected]

www.hydroquebec.com

Original text written in French. Ce document est également publié en français. 2018E1425-REV-A

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