TransCanada announced on Nov. 16 that it has been awarded a 20-year Clean Energy Supply contract by the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) to build, own and operate a 683 megawatt (MW) natural gas-fired power plant near the Town of Halton Hills, Ontario. TransCanada expects to invest approximately $670 million in the Halton Hills Generating Station (HHGS). The facility will have the capacity to generate enough power for approximately 600,000 homes and is anticipated to be in-service by the summer of 2010.

“We’re delighted to begin work on another major power project in Ontario,” said Hal Kvisle, TransCanada’s chief executive officer. “The Halton Hills project represents a new source of much-needed power to the Western Greater Toronto Area and will bring greater stability to local electricity supply to the benefit of residential, business and industrial consumers. HHGS demonstrates our continued commitment to helping address Ontario’s power needs.”

TransCanada’s bid for HHGS was submitted in response to the OPA’s request for new generation in the Greater Toronto Area West. The combined-cycle facility will use state-of-the-art low emissions technology and will be built to meet high environmental standards. HHGS will be located in the 401 industrial corridor in the Town of Halton Hills and will provide reliable, clean power to help meet the specific needs of the area.

HHGS is expected to create up to 300 construction jobs. In addition, a number of local businesses will be needed to provide services to the project during the construction and operating phases. Approximately 24 full-time positions will be required to operate the facility. During the life of the facility, routine operations and maintenance will require ongoing support from suppliers and specialty contractors from across the region.

Ontario is one of the largest power markets in North America and is an important focus for TransCanada. In September, Portlands Energy Centre L.P. announced that it had signed a 20-year Accelerated Clean Energy Supply (ACES) contract with the OPA for Portlands Energy Centre (PEC), a 550 MW high-efficiency, combined-cycle natural gas generation plant to be constructed in downtown Toronto. PEC is a limited partnership of Ontario Power Generation and TransCanada. TransCanada is also an owner of Bruce Power, one of North America’s largest independent power producers. Bruce Power is currently implementing a $4.25 billion restart and refurbishment program that will ultimately deliver another 1,500 MW to the Ontario power grid beginning in 2010.

With the addition of the Halton Hills Generating Station, TransCanada’s portfolio of power assets grows to approximately 7,700 megawatts.

For more information, contact Mike Dunn at 416.869.2107.