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• The battle over new north-south power lines Thursday saw Edmonton-owned Epcor Utilities up against industrial power consumers worried the proposed $4-billion expansion will push electricity rates too high and force some to leave the province.While Epcor urged a government-appointed panel to get on with the job of building the new lines, forestry companies told the panel to delay approval until a public hearing is held to assess the need for two new 500-kilovolt, DC lines, especially with new power plants opening in the south.The four-person panel, appointed by Premier Alison Redford, is re-viewing the proposed north-south lines, the timing of construction, the need for DC technology and possible changes to Bill 50 that eliminated a public hearing for the lines.

• "Let's get on with at least one of these north-south lines," Epcor senior vice-president Guy Bridgeman told the panel.While some presenters were concerned the upgrade constitutes over-building, Bridgeman said it makes sense to "build now for future demand."The new north-south lines, "urgently needed," will give investors confidence to invest in new power plants, knowing their power can get to customers, he said."So we want a robust grid that investors can feel confident in."The proposed north-south expansion process was first aborted in 2007, after a scandal erupted at the hiring of private investigators to spy on landowners opposed to the line. In 2009, the provincial cabinet deemed the two lines "critical infrastructure" in Bill 50 and moved ahead. But after widespread protests in rural Alberta, Redford set up the review panel that will report in February.

• Bridgeman also downplayed the differences between the position of Epcor, which runs Edmonton-area transmission lines, and that of its subsidiary, Capital Power, which owns and runs power plants at Lake Wabamun.Last week in Calgary, Capital Power told the panel it is unlikely that the province would need as much transmission capacity as the two high-voltage direct current lines called for by the Alberta Electric System Operator. Only one 500-kV line is needed and not until later this decade, Capital Power said.

• "We're not that far apart," said Bridgeman, saying the difference is about staging of the two proposed lines. Darwin Gillies, speaking for forestry companies, said north-south transmission is not urgently needed with the new gas-fired Sheppard plant opening in southern Alberta. There are also serious questions about the accuracy of an AESO load forecast that justified the pro-posed new lines. That issue needs to be examined at a public hearing at the Alberta Utilities Commission, Gillies added. "Just a 500-kV line, rubber-stamped, is not the solution. We want another hearing," Gillies told the panel.

• As power rates rise, big users such as Alberta Newsprint Company and others will build generation capacity on-site rather than rely on the grid. That needs to be taken into account when AESO makes its estimate on the need for expanded transmission, Gillies told the panel.Forestry companies, Millar Western, West Fraser and Alberta News-print company, pay $27 million a year for transmission fees alone. If the two new lines are built, that fee will hit $66 million, Gilles said.

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