On October 22, 2009 the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) denied alberta land owners leave to appeal the approval of a merchant power line between Alberta and Montana.
In Roy Swanson Farms Ltd., et al. v. Alberta Energy and Utilities Board, et al. the SCC awarded costs to the developer of the merchant line, Montana Alberta Tie Ltd.
The 230-kilovolt private line will run from Lethbridge, Alberta to Great Falls, Montana and will be capable of moving 300 megawatts of power while allowing access to the power grid for almost $1 billion in renewable wind power projects in the USA.
This decision seems to indicate that so-called "merchant" or for-profit private electricity transmission lines can be constructed on land owners private property, without their consent, as is presently the case with other public electricity transmission lines.
SCC application for leave
The Alberta Court of Appeal Decision (Sincennes v. Alberta (Energy and Utilities Board), 2009 ABCA 167)
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