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VANCOUVER – The British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) has approved a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) for a fifth generating unit at the Revelstoke Dam and Generating Station.

The CPCN was the third major regulatory hurdle for the project following the approval of an Environmental Assessment Certificate for the project in June and the issuance of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act screening report in July 2007. Construction of the project is scheduled to begin in late 2007 with a targeted in-service date of 2010.

"Revelstoke 5 is a cost-effective and timely project that will help us use clean power to meet British Columbia's growing demand for electricity," said Bob Elton, BC Hydro's President and Chief Executive Officer. "As part of our plan for closing the gap between electricity supply and demand in our province, BC Hydro will continue to look at all of the options for increasing the efficiency and electricity produced by existing generation facilities."

Once in place, Revelstoke Unit 5 will produce an additional 500 megawatts (MW) of installed capacity – the equivalent of enough power for 40,000 homes at peak demand – bringing the Revelstoke facility's total generating installed capacity to 2,480 MW.

The additional capacity created by Revelstoke Unit 5 also allows for more clean intermittent resources, such as run-of-river and wind hydro, to be brought into the system.

BC Hydro's current load forecast indicates that B.C.'s electricity requirements will grow by between 25 and 45 percent over the next 20 years. By reinvesting in existing heritage hydro assets such as Revelstoke, BC Hydro will be able to increase efficiency and electricity production with low or zero incremental environmental impact.

The BCUC agreed with BC Hydro that it is in the interests of ratepayers for Revelstoke Unit 5 to proceed as soon as possible.

Contact:

Gillian Robinson Riddell

Media Relations

Phone: 604 623-4022

gillian.robinson@bchydro.com

Backgrounder

• Located on the Columbia River, five kilometres upstream from the City of Revelstoke, the Revelstoke Dam and Generating Station began operating in 1984. Currently, the dam consists of four generating units with a combined capacity of 1,980 MW, accounting for about 18 percent of BC Hydro’s current installed capacity.
• The Revelstoke Dam and Generating Station are part of BC Hydro’s Columbia hydroelectric system, with the Mica Dam and Kinbasket Reservoir located upstream and the Keenleyside Dam and Arrow Lakes Reservoir situated downstream.
• During the 2004 and 2005 Integrated Electricity Plan processes, BC Hydro reviewed the various energy portfolios (combinations of resources) that could be pursued to meet British Columbia’s growing demand for electricity and capacity. The Revelstoke Unit 5 project was identified as an attractive, low cost option to provide a dependable source of capacity.
• The proposed fifth unit would add 500 megawatts (MW) of dependable capacity to the generating station, bringing the facility’s totalcapacity to 2,480 MW.
• The additional capacity will enable BC Hydro to service the equivalent of 40,000 additional homes during peak demand periods such as cold winter nights when lights, stoves, baseboard heaters, televisions and computers are all in use.
• The Revelstoke Unit 5 project was granted an Environmental Assessment Certificate by the Minister of the Environment and the Minister of Energy Mines and Petroleum Resources in June 2007. A harmonized environmental review was completed by the BC Environmental Assessment Office in Spring 2007.
• Before the environmental review, BC Hydro convened a 26-member Revelstoke Unit 5 Core Committee consisting of regional stakeholders, First Nations, and government representatives.

The target in-service date for the Revelstoke Unit 5 project is October 2010 while allowing for an in-service date of October 2011.