"It was a big step when we heard the power surge through the transmission line, and I felt very proud." (Adam Charneski)
A continuous flow of electricity was essential. Even a short stoppage could cause serious damage to aluminum production equipment and cost the Company millions in lost revenue and equipment repair.
Since wind and snow load were obstacles, the strongest cable was chosen - as thick as a man's wrist. An 82-kilometre transmission line relayed electricity over rugged mountainous terrain to the smelter at Kitimat. One-hundred-twenty-foot, tubular five-legged aluminum towers - a new invention - carried one of the two 300,000-volt transmission line circuits across the Twin Peaks summits of Kildala Pass at an elevation of up to one mile above sea level. The other line had standard steel towers. The two lines, L and R, were strung in a location where avalanches were least likely. Adam Charneski recalls the problem and the amount of work involved with the new experimental tubular towers: