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Approximately $250 million worth of projects will be built in Richmond to upgrade and expand the electricity grid.

Photo by Jaana Björk

BC Hydro invests $250 million in Richmond upgrades

By Richmond Sentinel

Published 11:38 PDT, Fri August 30, 2024

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BC Hydro will build approximately $250 million worth of capital projects in Richmond over the next decade to upgrade and expand the electricity grid to provide clean power for homes, businesses and transportation.

“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. “Throughout Richmond, 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 January 2024, the province announced BC Hydro’s updated 10-Year Capital Plan, which contains $36 billion in regional and community infrastructure investments throughout B.C., 50 per cent increase in investments over its previous capital plan. These new construction projects are forecast to support 10,500 to 12,500 jobs annually, on average, as well as increase and maintain BC Hydro’s capital investments as major projects like Site C are completed.

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 electricity, among other factors.

“In growing cities like Richmond, where we are seeing substantial housing growth and housing densification, we are embarking on significant upgrades to our electricity system, including investments in our transmission lines, substations and distribution network to ensure we can continue to provide reliable and clean electricity to our customers,” said Chris O’Riley, president and chief executive officer, BC Hydro. “We are also making important changes to our customer connections process to speed up timelines for newly constructed homes and buildings.”

Richmond is growing quickly. Between July 2022 and July 2023, Richmond had the highest population growth among all Metro Vancouver cities. To meet the growing housing, electrification and energy needs of the city, approximately $250 million is being invested in several projects, including:

• redevelopment of the Steveston substation that will power an additional 20,000-35,000 new homes and be in service by 2033;

• expansion of the Kidd 2 substation in North Richmond to power an additional 10,000-17,500 new homes and be in service by the end of 2027; and

• investments in new distribution capacity in Steveston and North Richmond to support projected load growth, driven by population growth, new housing and increasing electrification.

Richmond will also benefit from an additional $700 million in investments to reinforce the transmission system, which will improve reliability and increase capacity across Metro Vancouver.

BC Hydro’s 10-Year Capital Plan is a key part of Powering Our Future: BC’s Clean Energy Strategy. The strategy focuses on building an economy powered by clean energy, creating new jobs and opportunities, and keeping electricity affordable.

BC Hydro also recently launched a call for power to acquire approximately 3,000 gigawatt hours per year of clean electricity. This is BC Hydro’s first competitive call for power in more than 15 years and will add 5 per cent to its current supply. It will be the first in a series of calls for power as BC Hydro requires more power to electrify B.C.’s growing economy and reduce pollution.

“The City of Richmond is recognized as a climate-action leader through our commitment to sustainable energy and reducing the reliance on fossil fuels. Investments such as this support our initiatives to encourage clean energy and move us closer to our goal of achieving net-zero emissions in the community by 2050” said Mayor Malcolm Brodie.