ATCO Pipelines continues to experience significant levels of capital expenditures and completed nearly $83 million of capital work in 2010. This capital commitment was required to ensure the capacity and integrity of our pipeline system was sufficient to meet peak day requirements for industrial demand and the growth of the distribution market. ATCO Pipelines also directs considerable effort in replacing aging facilities and improving performance of existing infrastructure annually.
Improving the safety and reliability of the high-pressure natural gas transmission systems in Alberta’s two major urban centres of Calgary and Edmonton is a major initiative for ATCO Pipelines, commencing in 2011 and continuing for five years.We are preparing to create the equivalent of a ring-road of high-pressure transmission pipelines around both cities. Some of our existing pipelines were built more than four decades ago when the two major Alberta cities were much smaller. Over time these pipelines have become surrounded by urban growth. The new, larger pipelines will have additional capacity and will be installed within existing utility corridors in the two cities.Where required, the existing pipeline facilities will be transferred to ATCO Gas to be used as infrastructure within their distribution system.
ATCO Pipelines will be completing the final phase for replacing 169 kilometers of pipeline originally built in 1945 – 1946. The Southern Extension pipeline extends from Red Deer to Ryley and the replacement was split into three phases beginning in 2008. Close coordination with distribution companies is essential to this project as the pipeline serves hundreds of connections with these customers. The original pipeline had reached the end of its operational life and is being replaced with a completely new pipeline.
To accommodate residential development along the pipeline right-of-way, ATCO Pipelines will be replacing approximately three kilometers of the Homeglen Transmission Line north of 41 Avenue SW in the City of Edmonton. A new heavier walled pipeline will be installed in the same alignment as the existing pipeline. In conjunction with this replacement, six existing valve assembly sites will be upgraded from Rimbey Interconnect to the Edmonton Ethane Extraction Plant (EEEP). The upgrades will allow for the passage of an in-line inspection tool that will be used to detect possible defects in the pipeline and allow for proactive repairs to ensure the long-term integrity of this pipeline that is critical to delivery of natural gas to Edmonton.