The estimated $8.1 billion tab for badly needed upgrades to Alberta's power transmission network over the next decade will be passed on to consumers.

Two high-voltage power lines between Calgary and Edmonton top the list of priority projects, said the province's electrical operator in laying out its long-term energy plan at a news conference in Calgary on Tuesday.

The revamped project would cost about $3 billion — about 60 per cent more than an original proposal for a north-south line that was shelved more than a year ago after allegations that the a provincial agency hired security personnel to spy on landowners who were opposed to the plan.

Also on the list of projects that could start in 2011:

• A new line from Edmonton to the area called Upgrader Alley east of the city.
• Two new lines from that industry-heavy district to Fort McMurray.
• Upgrades to existing power lines in and around Calgary.

Capital costs for the first phase of the work will add about $8 a month to residential electricity bills by 2017, said David Erickson, president of the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO).

The monthly transmission fee on an average $100 bill is currently $7.

"I don't know what the alternative is," said Scott Hennig, Alberta director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. "Whether it's being charged through higher taxes or through higher fees, I think I'd rather see it come through consumers instead of taxes because at least people can, to a certain extent, adjust their consumption."

Poll finds support for new electricity infrastructure

Erickson said Alberta's power grid is "stretched to its limits" with no upgrades in the past two decades while energy demand has doubled in the same period.

An Ipsos Reid survey, released on Tuesday, said 45 per cent of the 800 Albertans surveyed over the phone are worried their community will be hit by an inadequate supply of electricity in the next five years.

Seventy-seven percent of respondents said they support building new transmission lines in their area to provide electricity for their local community while 66 per cent said they support new power lines through their area to meet the needs of other Alberta communities.

The study, conducted from Nov. 20 to Dec. 2, 2008, has a margin of error of +/- 3.5 percentage points 19 times out of 20.

Nuclear power not in operator's plans

Richard Way, a senior director with the non-profit AESO, said a high-voltage line carries high capacity but has a "fairly small footprint."

"So we actually can move an awful lot of power well into the future," he explained. "It will serve Alberta's needs well into the future, and yet the footprint or the disturbance to the land is smaller than comparable other technologies."

The AESO is looking to use more green energy such as wind, solar and water power but not nuclear energy, which is under consideration by the provincial government.

The province is conducting a public survey to decide if nuclear reactors should be built in Alberta.

On Monday, Alberta introduced Bill 50, which would give cabinet more control over which power lines are built and when, but the Alberta Utilities Commission would retain control over where they are built, including holding public meetings with landowners affected by a line.

With files from The Canadian Press