BC Hydro is surveying Westside residents for feedback on a second power source to the region

Photo: BC Hydro

For the first time since BC Hydro began seriously looking at a second power source for West Kelowna and the surrounding area, they are seeking public opinion.

A redundant power source for the more than 70,000 residents within the service area first became an issue during West Kelowna's first municipal election campaign, but it wasn't until the 2014 Smith Creek wildfire that the issue became a priority.

Now, more than seven years later, BC Hydro is going to the public for input on the four delivery options presently on the table.

The survey, which went live Monday, runs through Dec. 12.

BC Hydro initially identified Alternative 2, a twinning of the existing line from the Nicola substation in Merritt to the Westbank substation in 2016. But since that time updated cost estimates to build the new transmission line have come in higher than expected.

The rising costs have prompted BC Hydro to pivot back to look at three other alternatives which include building a new transmission line across Okanagan Lake, connecting the Westbank substation with the FortisBC system.

• Alternative 3a: connecting Westbank Substation to FortisBC’s DG Bell Substation (Mission-Kelowna area)
• Alternative 3b: build a new substation in West Kelowna, a submarine crossing of Okanagan Lake, and a transmission line to Saucier Substation (downtown Kelowna). We would then build a transmission line from Westbank Substation to the new substation
• Alternative 3c: connecting Westbank Substation to FortisBC's Saucier Substation (downtown Kelowna).

While BC Hydro initially favoured the Merritt connection in 2016, the council of the day in West Kelowna sided with a route from Kelowna. Coun. Doug Findlater still favours that route, citing the potential for wildfires wiping out both lines coming from a single source.

BC Hydro expect to make a final decision on a route sometime next year.

Once a route is determined, BC Hydro will spend about six months to prepare a detailed application for BCUC review. That review process takes 12 months meaning, if approved, construction work likely wouldn't begin until sometime in 2023 or 2024.

The power grid came under attack during the Brenda Creek wildfire earlier this summer.

The transmission route was within the evacuation area in mid July. The fire burned right to the transmission line, then burned past it. Despite many anxious moments, power was not interrupted as a result of the fire.