Elk Valley Resources Electrification Project
Situated in B.C.'s Elk Valley, Elk Valley Resources (EVR) runs four steelmaking coal mines in the area, which employ more than 5,000 people.
What's new
In fall 2024, EVR decided to slow down the project. As the project progressed, it became clear to EVR that more work needed to assess the future technologies which have guided the project, their readiness for mining, and how they will fit into EVR's operating environment.
EVR’s reassessment could change the infrastructure we’ll need to build to meet EVR’s power needs. Because of this, we’re pausing our work until we can confirm the project’s scope.
When the project resumes, we’ll provide an update here and reach out to stakeholders via email. To sign up for these updates, please email projects@bchydro.com.
What we heard
We’ve provided a consultation summary to share what we heard from Elk Valley residents and stakeholders during our first round of engagement in 2024. See reports and documents below to read the report.
We’re bringing more clean, reliable electricity to the Elk Valley to power EVR’s mining operations.
EVR is currently reassessing its power needs. Once EVR has confirmed how much energy they will need, we’ll be able to determine the infrastructure we’ll need to build.
The project is currently paused while EVR reassesses its future power needs.
We'll provide more information on the schedule when our plans move ahead.
Consultation
We began consulting with Indigenous Nations and stakeholders in 2023 to share our plans for the project, acknowledging that the project was in its earliest study stage and the scope could change as we complete these studies.
In early 2024, we held open houses in Elkford, Sparwood, and online to share our early plans and options for the route corridors we're considering. We also met directly with local and regional governments, environmental and recreation groups. See reports and documents below to view the information presented at the open houses and read a summary of what we heard.
The comments we heard followed three key themes:
- Concern about the preferred substation location near EVR’s Alexander Creek conservation lands;
- Concerns about habitat fragmentation and other environmental impacts on the transmission line route; and
- interest in keeping the new transmission line away from residential areas where it could impact aesthetic values.
We want to hear from Elk Valley residents, businesses, and organizations. Contact us if you have input to share or would like to receive emailed updates.
Reports and documents
- Consultation summary – December 2024 [PDF, 537 KB]
- Open house storyboards – February 2024 [PDF, 2.6 MB]
- Virtual open house presentation – March 2024 [PDF, 2.1 MB]
Contact us
If you'd like to learn more about the project, please contact us at:
Email: projects@bchydro.com
Phone: 604 623 4472
Toll free: 1 866 647 3334