TransCanada awards contract to ABB for $2.8bn Energy East pipeline project

TransCanada has awarded a contract to ABB for the construction of 22 electrical houses (e-houses) along the proposed C$4bn ($2.8bn) Energy East pipeline route.

Under the agreement, ABB will manufacture the modular enclosures at a new production facility in the greater Montreal region in Canada.

The contract follows TransCanada’s filing of an amended route application with the National Energy Board (NEB) for the pipeline project in December 2015. The application made nearly 700 changes to the route in a bid to address environmental concerns.

Energy East Pipeline project president John Soini said: "We are already very active in Québec, spending $100m in contracts with more than 250 suppliers over the last three years alone.

"Pipelines use a lot less energy than diesel powered trains or trucks because they operate using electricity, creating a significantly lower carbon footprint.

"Energy East will create the capacity to displace the equivalent of 1,570 rail cars of crude oil per day to Eastern Canada."

The e-houses are prefabricated and custom-designed to TransCanada’s requirements. They house critical electrical and automation equipment that is required to power pump stations.

These enclosures have a lifetime of over 30 years and are capable of withstanding extreme cold and snow conditions.

During the nine years of planning and construction for the pipeline, the Energy East project will create more than 3,000 jobs each year in Québec, the Conference Board of Canada said.

Once the 4,600km pipeline becomes operational, total tax revenues for Québec will be $1.2bn for the first 20 years of its operation.

The agreement to manufacture the e-houses will create up to 120 jobs in the region in addition to another 90 spin-off jobs outside of Montreal.

The pipeline would deliver oil from Western Canada to Eastern Canada, from Alberta and Saskatchewan to refineries and port terminals in New Brunswick and possibly Quebec.

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Image: TransCanada and ABB sign agreement for Energy East pipeline project. Photo: courtesy of TransCanada Corporation.