ATCO Electric - Distribution and Transmission Widening Programs

Project Background

ATCO’s distribution and transmission powerline systems deliver electricity to homes, businesses and infrastructure throughout North and East-central Alberta. The reliability and safety of these systems is of the highest importance to maintaining public confidence.

The ATCO Distribution and Transmission Widening Programs were developed to mitigate future outages and ensure system reliability by removing vegetation adjacent to the powerline easements. Additionally, these programs are part of the Alberta Wildfire Agreement between ATCO and the Government of Alberta. The programs help to minimize wildfire ignitions and severity both within and outside of the Forest Protection Area by planning for the removal of trees that could fall onto the powerlines.

GeoVerra’s is proud to be a partner of ATCO. The team’s expertise has helped ATCO deliver high-quality results and successfully develop and progress their Distribution and Transmission Widening Programs since 2016.

Overview

• To support forestry and environmental services for the Distribution and Transmission Widening Programs, GeoVerra was engaged by ATCO to provide field assessments and layout for access and operational planning as well as field data processing.
• The widening programs focus on trees that could contact the powerlines or pass through the flash over buffer for transmission and distribution lines, they are located outside of ATCO’s maintained easements. This includes trees found on vacant crown land, private land, adjacent third-party dispositions, and on ATCO’s Vegetation Control Easements (VCEs).
• GeoVerra provided field assessment and layout and mapping/GIS services to deliver landowner consents, third-party agreements, First Nation consultation maps, operational mapping, work plan and tracking sheets, access mapping and Temporary Field Authorizations (TFAs) to support the program and minimize wildfire ignition, future outages and system reliability.
• GeoVerra’s commitment to precision and efficiency empowered ATCO to execute their program plan effectively and continue to improve it.

Why GeoVerra – Trusted, Responsive, Reliable Solutions

The forestry group at GeoVerra has worked with ATCO Electric for over five years to develop the Distribution and Transmission Widening Program procedures to adapt to changing requirements and expectations. GeoVerra’s forestry team has repeatedly been contracted to complete ATCO’s distribution and transmission widening projects and has proven time and again that they deliver high quality results.

Primary Services

Field Assessments and Layout

• Layout of widening polygons and marking of individual widening trees
• Access and operational planning

Mapping and GIS

• Field data processing
  • Widening areas and trees
  • Access
  • Pipeline crossings
  • Watercourse crossings

Deliverables

• Landowner consents
• Third party agreements
• Operational mapping
• Work plan tracking sheets
• Access mapping
• Approved Temporary Field Authorizations
  • First Nations Consultation
  • Historical resource values
  • Parks Temporary Field Authority (PTA)
  • Transportation permits

Outcome

We have been engaged with Geoverra for over 8 years now for their wildfire mitigation and rights of way widening planning services, and we couldn’t be more satisfied with the results. Their team demonstrates exceptional expertise in assessing our utility rights of ways and identifying potential vegetation caused wildfire risks. The comprehensive plan’s they develop not only address our immediate concerns but also provide us with long-term strategies to enhance our resilience against wildfires. Their collaborative approach and attention to detail makes the entire process seamless. We highly recommend GeoVerra to any utility company looking to bolster their wildfire preparedness and protect their assets.

– Codi Van Maurik, RPFT, Supervisor, Forestry East, Electricity, ATCO

For more information on how the GeoVerra team can support your powerline project, send us a note at www.geoverra.com/contact