BC Hydro will upgrade and expand its electricity grid in Steveston and North Richmond, to the tune of $250 million, to power up to 47,500 new homes.
The Steveston substation, located at Gilbert Road and Steveston Highway, will be redeveloped by 2033 and that will power another 20,000 to 35,000 new homes.
Furthermore, the Kidd 2 substation, at No. 4 and River roads, will be expanded by 2027 and that will power another 10,000 to 17,500 new homes.
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., a 50-per-cent increase in investments over its previous capital plan.
"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 CEO, BC Hydro.
"We are also making important changes to our customer connections process to speed up timelines for newly constructed homes and buildings."
BC Hydro is also spending $700 million to reinforce the transmission system to improve reliability and increase capacity across Metro Vancouver.
Electricity demand in B.C. is expected to increase by 15 per cent or more between now and 2030.
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