NORTH VANCOUVER – Over the next decade BC Hydro has stated it will construct approximately $500-million worth of capital projects in the North Shore and Sea to Sky corridor in order to upgrade and expand the electricity grid.
In January 2024, the Province of B.C. announced BC Hydro’s updated 10-Year Capital Plan, which contains $36 billion in regional and community infrastructure investments across B.C., a 50 per cent increase in investments over its previous capital plan, states a release.
The new construction projects are forecast to support 10,500 to 12,500 jobs on average annually and will increase and maintain BC Hydro’s capital investments as major projects like Site C are completed.
“In growing regions like the North Shore and the Sea to Sky corridor, where we are seeing substantial housing, building, transportation and industrial growth, we are embarking on significant upgrades to our electricity system,” said Chris O’Riley, president and CEO of BC Hydro, in a statement.
“It includes investments in our transmission lines, substations and distribution network, as well as investments to improve dam safety and replace aging or end-of-life equipment to ensure we can continue to provide reliable and clean electricity to our customers. We are also making important changes to our customer connections process to speed up timelines for newly constructed homes and buildings.”
According to the release, the city and district of North Vancouver, district of West Vancouver, Squamish, Whistler and Pemberton are witnessing significant growth across residential, commercial, transportation and industrial sectors.
To meet the growing energy needs of these communities, approximately $500 million is being invested in several projects, including:
- completing the new Capilano substation upgrade, which provides capacity for an additional 10,000 to 17,500 homes;
- adding capacity at the Squamish substation;
- replacing end-of-life equipment at the Pemberton and Lynn Valley substations;
- replace transmission infrastructure between the Walters substation and Deep Cove substation in North Vancouver;
- upgrading the Cheakamus generating facility to address seismic vulnerabilities and reliability risks; and
- completing voltage-conversion projects at the Glenmore, Norgate and Capilano substations, extending more than 10 kilometres of major underground infrastructure and adding capacity to serve the new and expanded Harry Jerome Recreation Centre in North Vancouver.
BC Hydro also recently launched a call for power to acquire approximately 3,000 gigawatt hours per year of clean electricity.
This was BC Hydro’s first competitive call for power in more than 15 years and will add five per cent to its current supply. It is the first in a series of calls for power as BC Hydro requires more power to electrify B.C.’s growing economy and reduce harmful pollution, the release reads.
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