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Red Deer Advocate THURSDAY, JULY 31, 2014
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Power projects to go ahead
SUPPLY AND DEMAND
BY RENÉE FRANCOEUR ADVOCATE STAFF
and was ordered to provide a DNA sample for the national database. Other charges, including impaired driving causing death and dangerous driving causing death, were withdrawn once the guilty plea was accepted. The victim’s wife, Marilyn Rinas, said she has been left with feelings of shock, disbelief, numbness and anger.
Plan to feel dwarfed by quite a few new electrical giants in the region. The Alberta Utilities Commission approved six of AltaLink’s seven transmission reinforcement projects for Red Deer, Sylvan Lake, Didsbury, Innisfail and Ponoka on Tuesday evening after a lengthy process involving numerous public hearings earlier this year. This means $322-million worth of electricity transmission upgrades are set to begin, with the earliest construction starting in September and continuing to the summer of 2016. The company says new substations and lines are needed to combat existing transmission system constraints, increasing overloading and low-voltage occurrences and to accommodate future load growth. Three of the six components involve replacing existing transmission lines in current rights-of-ways, including through the Pines neighbourhood in Red Deer. The existing north-south H-frame transmission line (known as 80L) will be replaced by a monopole transmission line and a 700-metre section of the line built underground through the Riverlands area in the city. The incremental costs associated with this buried line will be paid for by the City of Red Deer. The other existing east-west transmission line (755L) between Red Deer, Piper Creek and Joffre substations will be rebuilt using a combination of H-frame structures and monopole structures generally within the existing right-of-way. “It’s been a long process. We’ve been working with AltaLink for probably over two years on this,” said Paul Goranson, acting city manager at the City of Red Deer. “It is going to have an impact on the community regardless; where they’re crossing roads and trail closures and those kinds of things.”
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Photo by JEFF STOKOE/Advocate staff
Success in business can come down to a simple dynamic of supply and demand and this week Macy-D Matychuck, 8, of Red Deer found that when the temperature rises people get thirsty. So on a corner in West Park Matychuk set about to test the market with her entrepreneurial spirit. She quickly found that being the only vendor of ice tea and lemonade in her neighborhood proved to be a lucrative venture. Here she serves up cups to Robert Jr. Crane, 7, and his step brother Dmitri Woods, 12.
Wife of drunk driving victim shocked by gaps in justice system BY BRENDA KOSSOWAN ADVOCATE STAFF Court proceedings involving an Airdrie man who caused a fatal collision near Rocky Mountain House have exposed serious flaws in Canada’s criminal justice system, says the wife of the man who was killed. On June 15, 2013, Rocky resident
Wayne Rinas, 52, was heading north on Hwy 22, about 15 km north of Rocky, when his pickup truck was struck headon by a southbound pickup truck driven by Peter MacLaurin, 25, of Airdrie. MacLaurin was sentenced to two years and nine months in Rocky Mountain House provincial court on Tuesday, after pleading guilty to criminal negligence causing death. He was also prohibited from driving for five years
Albertans urged to conserve power during heat wave Scorching hot temperatures are putting pressure on the power grid, forcing the Alberta Electric System Operator to ask all Albertans to conserve power. Jim Jorgensen, Red Deer’s Electric, Light and Power Department manager, said the power grid is seeing high demand, and residents need to be aware of what they can do to help minimize the power consumed.
WEATHER 30% showers. High 25. Low 14.
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Customers within the City of Red Deer were also asked to reduce power consumption to alleviate stress on the system on Wednesday afternoon. Jorgensen said so far this summer Red Deer power consumers are not doing so badly. Red Deer’s record peak was set on July 2, 2013, when customers used 140 megawatts during a heat wave. Megawatts are used to measure the output of a power plant or the amount of electricity required by a municipality.
INDEX Four sections Alberta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A3 Business. . . . . . . . . . . . . C3,C4 Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A5,A6 Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . D1-D4 Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D5 Entertainment . . . . . . . . C7,C8 Sports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B1-B5
The highest usage in this recent span of hot weather was on Tuesday, when the peak reached 134 megawatts. “We haven’t quite got to record levels,” said Jorgensen. “It’s just as hot weather increases, so does electricity usage.” Residents can conserve energy by turning off all unnecessary lights and electrical appliances and minimizing use of air conditioners. Residents are also asked to close blinds and shades during the hottest part of the day and to run major appli-
ances such as washer and dryers after 7 p.m. If power consumption exceeds capacity across the province, Alberta Electric System Operator plans load shedding, which can include power outages. Due to the hot weather, low wind and generators being offline, the electricity system is operating at near full capacity. The heat is expected to continue for the next couple of days.
UN compound, market hit in Gaza Israeli strikes hit a crowded shopping area and a UN school crowded with refugees as the Palestinian death toll reached 1,300.
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