Construction starts Monday on a new electrical substation in Medicine Hat's southwest, a $22 million project that has been seven years in the making and survived a regulatory rejection before it could break ground.
The substation, designated MHS-11, is located west of Gershaw Drive and Highway 3 within Medicine Hat's municipal boundary, north of Saamis Prairie View Cemetery. The City expects it to be in service by spring 2027.
Residents near Highway 3 north of Township Road 122 will notice increased construction traffic beginning June 1. Drivers are asked to slow down and follow directions from construction personnel.
Seven years to get here
The City of Medicine Hat first identified the need for a southwest substation in 2019, as development in the city's south end housing, commercial development, schools, recreation facilities began generating electrical demand that the existing grid couldn't reliably handle long term.
The first application went to the Alberta Utilities Commission in June 2022. It didn't go well. On June 12, 2023, the AUC denied the application, ruling that the City needed to re-evaluate its site selection process. Cypress County residents had objected to two proposed locations near Highway 3 at the city limits and near the county hamlet of Desert Blume and the AUC agreed the process needed to start over.
The City went back to square one. Through 2023 and 2024, it re-evaluated sites, ran a new public consultation process, and submitted a revised application in December 2024. On April 25, 2025, the AUC approved that application under Proceeding No. 29734 granting approval to build at Range Road 63, half a mile north of Township Road 122, well inside the city's municipal boundary.
The approved site has no agricultural impacts and was selected partly because its location near Highway 3 minimizes social, environmental, and visual impacts on surrounding residents the same concerns that sank the first application.
What MHS-11 actually does
A substation's job is to take high-voltage electricity coming from a power plant and step it down to levels that can be safely distributed through local power lines to homes and businesses. Without that conversion, the electricity generated at a power plant can't reach your outlets.
MHS-11 will manage the flow of power from Medicine Hat's River Valley Power Complex south to the new substation near Highway 3, then east to the city's south end. Power line upgrades connecting the power plant to MHS-11, and then MHS-11 to another station in South Ridge, were approved at the same time as the substation itself.
Without MHS-11, the city's ability to extend reliable power to new development in the southwest is constrained. New housing subdivisions, commercial development along the south corridor, and infrastructure projects all depend on electrical capacity that the existing grid can't add without this substation.
The broader infrastructure picture
MHS-11 isn't the only pressure Medicine Hat's electrical system is under right now. Council recently approved a $21 million increase to the upcoming budget to fund a modernization strategy for three existing substations that are nearing the end of their service life. Rather than replacing them entirely, city staff developed a multi-year plan to repair and extend them.
That means Medicine Hat is simultaneously building new electrical infrastructure for growth and overhauling aging infrastructure to keep existing service reliable. Both things are happening at the same time, with significant capital committed to each.
"As Medicine Hat continues to grow, this new substation will help ensure we can meet increasing electricity demand in the south end while supporting reliable service for customers," said Rochelle Pancoast, Managing Director of Energy, Land and Environment for the City.
What to expect this summer
Starting June 1, crews will bring in machinery and begin groundwork at the site off Highway 3. Construction traffic will be using the access from Highway 3 north of Township Road 122. MHS-11 has a two-year construction timeline with a spring 2027 target to go live.
Full project details, including maps and documents, are at medicinehat.ca/MHSS.
Sources:
City of Medicine Hat news release — Construction begins on Medicine Hat's Southwest Substation, May 27, 2026 (medicinehat.ca)
City of Medicine Hat news release — Medicine Hat Southwest Substation application approved, April 29, 2025 (medicinehat.ca)
Alberta Utilities Commission — Proceeding No. 29734 decision, April 25, 2025 (auc.ab.ca)
Medicine Hat News — New substation construction begins next week, May 28, 2026 (medicinehatnews.com)
Medicine Hat News — City gets OK to build new substation, May 1, 2025 (medicinehatnews.com)
Shape Your City Medicine Hat — MHSS project page and FAQs (shapeyourcity.medicinehat.ca)
Alberta Major Projects Registry — MHS-11 Substation Medicine Hat (majorprojects.alberta.ca)
