Hydro One will return to communities across central Ontario, including a stop in Bala, this summer as planning continues for the proposed Sudbury–Barrie Transmission Line, a major infrastructure project aimed at increasing electricity capacity between northern and southern Ontario.
Residents will have an opportunity to learn more about Hydro One’s proposed Sudbury–Barrie Transmission Line when the utility hosts a public open house in Bala on Aug. 1 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Bala Community Centre, 1008 Maple Ave., as part of a new round of consultations across the project area.
The utility said it will hold a second round of virtual and in-person open houses from July 27 to Aug. 13 to present a new, more focused study area for the approximately 300-kilometre, 500-kilovolt transmission corridor, which would run from Hanmer Transformer Station in Greater Sudbury to Essa Transformer Station near Barrie.
Hydro One hosted its first round of open houses in spring 2026 and has since collected additional technical data and public feedback.
“Events like the community open houses are extremely important,” said Sonny Karunakaran, Hydro One’s vice-president of strategic projects and partnerships. “We use the input from the open houses, along with field studies and other research to refine our model.”
Karunakaran said the process remains interactive and that Hydro One hopes to identify several potential route options by later this year for further public review.
The environmental assessment will consider factors such as wetlands, wildlife habitat, environmentally sensitive areas and cottage communities. Hydro One said the results of those studies will be made public as part of the assessment process.
It is still too early to determine how many private properties could be affected, but Karunakaran said landowners will be contacted directly if their land comes under consideration, including through mail and door-to-door outreach.
The project is intended to strengthen north-south transmission capacity and prepare the provincial grid for growing electricity demand.
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