Monday morning media were invited out to the location of the latest project started by SaskPower. 

They unveiled one of two work sites that will soon see a brand new transmission line, which carries almost double the amount of megawatts that is currently in place, coming from the new natural gas Chinook Power Station near Swift Current.

The two projects will be located on either side of Moose Jaw. One stretches 200 km from Moose Jaw to Swift Current, and the second piece runs from Belle Plaine to Regina for 44 km. The price tag for this upgrade is $300 million, with four separate contractors helping with the build. 

Despite the large amount of equipment, both in size and quantity, Vice President for Asset Management, Planning & Sustainability,Tim Eckel, said it shouldn't take long now that the project is underway.  

"We hope to have the line in service by the end of the summer of 2019. There will be some work that will go on after that but the main line will be in by that time," explained Eckel. "Some of the work we have to do in winter because of environmental requirements, we have to work on frozen ground."

One of the many exciting features associated with the new transmission line is the fact that it's being built and put together with steel, as opposed to wood, which has typically been used in the past. 

"With steel you can design it and you know what all the material properties are. With wood we typically have a safety factor built into it because sometimes you don't know if there's a knot or whatever in it so we always have to build extra with the wood, and then they still could have some of those issues. Steel, because it's engineered in a designed project, the material is very durable."

Eckel stated that when creating new projects they normally have to factor in what the demand will be like by the time it's fully operational, if it'll be able to keep up with increased demand for years afterwards and also the amount of time it takes to bring ideas like this to fruition. 

"Typically, by the time you get all the engineering done and environmental approvals, materials ordered and the construction, it could take 5 years."

People in either area will notice heavy equipment and semis hauling in more pieces, which could impact traffic. With safety in mind, SaskPower will have proper signage and barriers in place to keep residents away from the work areas. 

The two-part project will see roughly 900 structures assembled with the new transmission line, which occasionally will be installed by helicopter.  This work will last all year round, with the final details possibly taking until 2020, after the new line is fully operational. 

This work is just a portion of the $1 billion that SaskPower plans to invest into renewable energy each year, modernizing their services as well as showing support for wind and solar sources of energy.