Mica Units 5 & 6 Projects Make Text Larger Make Text Smaller Print This Page Bookmark and Share

Projects description

To ensure the province of B.C. continues to have the electricity it needs, BC Hydro is proposing to install two additional 500 MW generating units into existing turbine bays at Mica Generating Station. This capacity addition to our generating system is cost-effective, has a low environmental impact, and will improve system reliability and system operations.

The Mica Unit 5 project will also include construction of a new capacitor station on the existing Mica to Nicola 500 kV transmission line needed to reliably deliver the additional electrical generation at Mica.

The in-service dates for the two Mica Units are schedule to be between 2013 and 2015.

Project updates:

Mica Generating Station

Mica Generating Station is located on the Columbia River about 135 km north of the City of Revelstoke. Mica Generating Station began operating in 1977. It was originally designed as a six-unit facility, with the installation of Units 5 and 6 being deferred until additional capacity was needed. The generating station currently has four generating units with a combined maximum capacity of 1,805 megawatts (MW) and a historic annual average power production of 7,202 gigawatt hours (GWh). Mica generation accounts for roughly 15% of BC Hydro's current installed capacity.

Project need

B.C.'s electricity demand continues to grow

BC Hydro's load forecast indicates that demand for electricity will grow by up to 30% over the next 20 years.

Additional units at Mica preferred to help BC Hydro meet the growing demand for electricity

BC Hydro convened a consultative committee, the Revelstoke-Mica Sequence Identification Committee, in the summer of 2007 to recommend a preferred development sequence for the remaining units at Revelstoke and Mica Generating Stations. In their final report [PDF, 4.4 Mb], the committee recommended that BC Hydro install additional units at Mica before installing the sixth unit at Revelstoke.

Additional generating units at the Mica Generating Station will provide more dependable capacity, important to meet demands at peak periods, such as cold winter nights when lights, stoves, baseboard heaters, televisions and computers are all in use.

As outlined in BC Hydro's 2008 Long-Term Acquisition Plan, in support of the provincial Energy Plan, BC Hydro help the province become energy self-sufficient by 2016 through conservation, capacity additions and new sources of clean energy.

Last Modified: Nov 18, 2009

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