BC Hydro will construct approximately $360 million worth of capital projects in Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody and the Village of Anmore over the next decade to upgrade and expand the electricity grid and provide clean power for homes, businesses, and growing electrification and transportation needs.
“We must build out B.C.’s electrical system like never before to power our homes and businesses, to power a growing economy and to power our future,” said Josie Osborne, Minister of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation, on Tuesday. “Throughout the Tri-Cities and in communities across B.C., these construction projects will create thousands of good jobs over the next decade and ensure that people have access to clean, affordable and reliable electricity when they need it and where they need it.”
“In growing regions like the Tri-Cities where we are seeing substantial growth in housing, building, transportation and business growth, we are embarking on significant upgrades to our electricity system, including investments in our substations, transmission lines and distribution network to ensure we can continue to provide reliable and clean electricity to our customers,” said Chris O’Riley, President and CEO, BC Hydro. “We are also making important changes to our customer connections process to speed up timelines for newly constructed homes and buildings.”
The Tri-Cities area is witnessing significant growth. The region’s population has more than doubled over the past 20 years and is projected to rise further by nearly 60% to almost 400,000 by 2050. This increase is resulting in new housing developments, densification, new businesses and growing transportation, electrification and energy needs. To meet this surge in demand, approximately $360 million is being invested in several projects, including:
* redevelopment of the Barnard substation to service Burquitlam and central Coquitlam, powering an additional 18,000 to 30,000 new homes to be in service by 2029;
* improvements at the Buntzen Lake 1 and 2 generating facilities to address seismic and reliability risks; and
* an upgrade and relocation of the 230kV switchyard control building at the Burrard Synchronous Condense site.
In addition to these major projects, transmission and distribution investments will support new residential developments, load growth in Burquitlam, central Coquitlam and Fraser Mills communities, as well as the energy requirements at Translink’s new additional operations and maintenance centre, which is under construction.
