Hydro One anticipates its new Chatham to Lakeshore transmission line will be finished a year ahead of schedule.
The utility now believes it will be in service by December 2024, cutting the cost by an estimated $15-million.
The project was expected to cost $253-million.
The line, stretching from the Chatham Switching Station to a new Lakeshore Transformer Station, will add about 400 megawatts of power to the region, enough to power a city the size of Windsor.
It's good news for the region's electric vehicle industry and greenhouse sector, which will rely on the new source of electricity.
Hydro One credits its partnership with local Indigenous communities who will have the opportunity to invest in a 50 per cent equity ownership stake. It also says early engagement with residents and impacted property owners and priority planning by the Independent Electricity System speed up the process.
"The long-lasting partnerships we've developed have enabled us to work in a transparent and meaningful way and have been instrumental in accelerating the pace of this transmission line project," said the Executive Vice President of Capital Portfolio Delivery at Hydro One, Andrew Spencer.
Energy demand could quadruple by 2035 in southwestern Ontario.
Construction on the 49km, 230-kilovolt line began last spring.
