March 20, 2015 – The Government of Canada has conditionally set aside up to $50 million from the Green Infrastructure Fund for a project “to help stabilize the electricity supply in Prince Edward Island”: the Northumberland Strait Power Cable Project.

The project will involve installing two, 180MW high-voltage submarine transmission cables across the Northumberland Strait, as well as the necessary on-land infrastructure. The cables will span 17 kilometres of the Strait from Cape Tormentine, N.B., to Borden, P.E.I.

The existing cables installed in 1977 are nearing the end of their life cycle, says Infrastructure Canada, adding that connecting the new cables “will help sustain uninterrupted service at a reasonable cost for Islanders”.

Infrastructure Canada added that the Northumberland Strait Power Cable Project is the “most significant on Prince Edward Island since the Confederation Bridge” and will support job creation and economic growth by making “cheaper, cleaner forms of energy available to residents and businesses, thereby reducing reliance on generators”.