Pikangikum First Nation to be connected to Ontario power grid by next fall – The Chronicle Herald
August 17, 2017
THUNDER BAY, Ont. — The federal government has announced funding to connect the Pikangikum First Nation in northwestern Ontario to the province’s power grid.
The remote community near the Ontario-Manitoba border currently relies on diesel generators for electricity.
Carolyn Bennett, Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs, says the government will spend up to $60.2 million to build a 117-kilometre power line from Red Lake, Ont., to Pikangikum.
Construction is expected to begin in the fall and is expected to wrap in a year.
A statement from the Nishnawbe Aski Nation, a group of 49 Indigenous communities in northern Ontario, says being connected to the power grid will be healthier and cheaper than relying on generators.
