Clean, Affordable Electricity To Power Growth On Vancouver Island

BC Hydro will be building more than $3 billion in capital projects on Vancouver Island over the next decade to upgrade and expand the electricity grid.

“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 Vancouver Island 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.”

Josie Osborne, Minister of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation, says on Vancouver Island and other parts of the province, construction projects will create thousands of jobs over the next decade and ensure that people have access to clean, affordable and reliable electricity.

In January, the Province announced BC Hydro’s updated 10-Year Capital Plan, which contains $36 billion in regional and community infrastructure investments throughout B.C., a 50 percent increase in investments over its previous capital plan.

The plan reflects growing demand for electricity across sectors due to population growth and housing construction, increased industrial development, and people and businesses switching from fossil fuels to clean electricity, among other factors.

Several projects will help with significant growth in Victoria, Saanich, Langford, Colwood and Nanaimo.

It also includes seismic upgrade projects to BC Hydro’s three dams within the Campbell River system – John Hart, Strathcona and Ladore – to maintain downstream public safety and to ensure a continuing reliable local supply of energy, with all three projects planned to be in service by 2030.

BC Hydro is also investigating the feasibility of grid-scale batteries on Vancouver Island to provide additional capacity to address anticipated growth and improve reliability in the region.

In north Vancouver Island, work is being undertaken to voltage convert and upgrade the existing system supplying Port Alice, which will provide BC Hydro with more options to restore outages, as well as allow more and larger customers to connect to the system.

To learn more, visit Government of British Columbia.