Scandal-plagued power-line plan 'back to Square 1'

Almost three years after they were begun, scandal-plagued hearings on a proposal to build a 500-kilovolt power line between Edmonton and Calgary have been scrapped by the province's Energy and Utilities Board (EUB), and will have to be started all over again.

Followingfour investigations into how the energy board handled the application by AltaLink to build the power line, the board's new chair, William Tilleman, said Sunday the only way to restore public confidence in the provincial regulator is by going "back to Square 1" and start theapplication process from the beginning.

The decision follows allegations that the EUB had hired security personnel to spy on landowners who were opposed to the plan.

The provincial privacy commissioner, the ombudsman and a retired justice acting on behalf of the energy minister are already investigating the EUB hearings.

The province's auditor general also has agreed to look into conflict-of-interest allegations made by the Alberta NDP. On Friday, NDP Leader Brian Mason said the conflict relates to the wife of a senior Alberta energy official, who works for AltaLink.

Investigations began after the energy regulator admitted to hiring "security personnel" to oversee central Alberta landowners opposed to the project.

In April, board staff had said they were physically threatened in three incidents at a public hearing into the project. Afterward, the board decided to accept only written submissions and close the courtroom in the central Alberta town of Rimbey.

Landowners were moved into a nearby recreation centre to watch the proceedings on TV.

In June, board spokesman Davis Sheremata admitted the energy regulator had hired security officers to keep an eye on the landowners while they were watching the hearings in the recreation centre.

The landowners claim the security officers were spying on them.

In closing down the hearings, Tilleman compared what had happened to "a mistrial" in court.

The board also took the step of reversing the earlier decision that confirmed the need for such a power line in the first place.

After the allegations of spying on landowners surfaced, Tilleman fired the EUB's security team.

"This is going to right back to that point. And so, when the application comes forward, it'll come forward and be tabled. And, on the merits of whatever that looks like, all parties will have an opportunity to dig right into that and make that decision."

Altalink blames EUB process

AltaLink, the company that was applying for the power line, is disappointed in the move.

The company's vice-president, Leigh Clarke,blamed the result onthe EUB, and not because of any problem with the company's application.

He said AltaLink will work with the EUB on a new application process.

Joe Anglin, one of the landowners in the dispute, isn't as positive about the decision.

He said the EUB is just avoiding a court case that was going to start Monday.

"And they quashed it themselves, the day before. They were gonna get hammered in the court, and they knew it."

Anglin said he and other landowners plan to begin an ad campaign against the power-line plan right away.