As an electricity transmitter, FNEI is responsible for the transportation or delivery of electricity from Moosonee to the substations in the Communities of Attawapiskat, Fort Albany, and Kashechewan.  Transmitters in Ontario do not buy or sell energy, but they do construct, operate, and maintain, the transmission systems that connect electricity generators and distributors throughout the province.

In FNEI’s case, the distributors are the Attawapiskat Power Corporation; Fort Albany Power Corporation; and Kashechewan Power Corporation.

The transmission system was designed to meet the needs of the three (3) Communities of Attawapiskat, Fort Albany, and Kashechewan, for a period of thirty (30) years.  Once the transmission system upgrades were completed in 2009, it now has a capacity of 80mW.

As one of Ontario’s licensed transmitters, FNEI receives payments from the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO), based on a rates application approved by the Ontario Energy Board (OEB).  The rates application sets out FNEI’s revenue requirements based upon the estimated costs of operating the system.  FNEI has no control over the revenues it receives.  This revenue varies according to the amount of electricity transmitted in Ontario.

The services FNEI provides are regulated by the OEB, and this includes the rates that are charged for transmitting electricity.

FNEI is committed to providing the best service it can to the LDCs it services.  To ensure the service level remains high, FNEI is constantly upgrading the services and strives to ensure that there are as few outages and service interruptions as possible. 

FNEI also installed fibre optic telecommunications to the Communities that allows FNEI to carry out better monitoring of its systems.  Some fibre optic strands were made available for significant telecommunication improvements for the Communities such as providing high speed internet, better phone service, and more opportunities for new technologies like tele-health.  The telecommunications is being provided for the Communities by the Western James Bay Telecom Network, not by FNEI.

FNEI has undertaken upgrades to the substations and changes to the line in order to improve safety, reliability, and improved performance.  A second transformer was installed in the Communities of Attawapiskat, and Fort Albany.  This significantly reduces the length of potential power outages in the Communities.  This means that if the primary transformer at the substation is damaged, power can be restored within hours in the Communities.  Without this second transformer on standby, it could take weeks to restore power.  A second transformer for the Community of Kashechewan was also installed and was energized in November, 2009.

Repairs and upgrades were also completed for the berm walls to prevent/reduce outages caused by flooding and ice damage during spring break-ups.  Switches have also been installed in order that damage and power outages can be isolated, allowing some of the Communities to have power restored immediately while other portions of the transmission line are repaired.  In addition, FNEI has garages to store its vehicles and equipment in the Communities.