New P.E.I. electricity cable bids coming in under budget
Costs for power cables connecting P.E.I. to mainland $50M less than forecast
The bids are in for the building of two new electricity cables under the Northumberland Strait, connecting Prince Edward Island to the mainland, and the cost now looks lower than expected.
"To the best of our knowledge at this point, and we're going to spend some time studying very closely those responses to the request for proposals, it looks like we had a good day on Friday," said P.E.I. Premier Wade MacLauchlan.
"The market indicates that the work can be done for approximately $100 million."
MacLauchlan said the federal government has confirmed it will contribute $50 million towards the cables. The province has also agreed to pay $50 million.
The cables will have a capacity of 360 megawatts and will replace existing cables that are approaching the end of their life expectancy.
Installation is expected to begin in the fall of 2016.