Substation upgrade to meet growing demand in Coquitlam
$20-million upgrade to Como Lake Substation helps meet demand growth in Tri-Cities
COQUITLAM – BC Hydro has completed a $20 million upgrade to the Como Lake Substation in Coquitlam to help meet growing electricity demand. Demand in the Tri-Cities region is expected to grow by two per cent each year over the next 20 years.
Substations are an important part of the electrical system. They receive high voltage power from transmission lines and transform that power to a lower voltage so it can be distributed to homes and businesses.
Work at the Como Lake Substation began in July 2013. BC Hydro installed:
- A new transformer, bringing the total number of transformers at the substation up to five
- Equipment that will enable the addition of 12 distribution feeders
- New protective equipment, including switches and circuit breakers, which connect high voltage electrical equipment inside the substation to the lower voltage switchgear – similar to an electrical panel in a home but much larger.
This upgrade is just one of hundreds of BC Hydro’s capital projects underway throughout B.C. that, together, make up one of the largest expansions of electrical infrastructure in the province’s history.
BC Hydro will invest, on average, $2.4 billion a year over the next 10 years in the electricity system including upgrades to transmission and distribution systems and dams and generating stations.
Quotes:
Douglas Horne, MLA, Coquitlam-Burke Mountain
"BC Hydro’s $20 million expansion of the Como Lake Substation recognizes the growth we are seeing in the Tri-Cities and will ensure we continue to have a reliable source of electricity to heat and light our homes, power our businesses and attract investment to our communities for decades to come."
Linda Reimer, MLA, Port Moody-Coquitlam
"Affordable, dependable, clean electricity is the backbone of our economy, and we’re making investments now to power the Tri-Cities forward into the future. The expansion of the Como Lake Substation is part of BC Hydro’s plan to invest, on average, $2.4 billion per year over the next 10 years to upgrade, maintain and expand aging infrastructure to meet the growing needs of British Columbia residents, businesses and industry."
Greg Reimer, Executive Vice-President, Transmission & Distribution Operations & Customer Service, BC Hydro
"Reliable power is essential to growth. The electrical system needs to keep up with, or even be one step ahead of, economic development and residential growth for our 60,000 customers in Coquitlam. We are making investments in the system throughout B.C. Over the next 10 years, we need to invest $10 billion on the transmission & distribution network alone."
Media contact information:
BC Hydro Media Relations, p. 604 928 6468