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Mainwaring Substation upgrade

We're upgrading the Mainwaring Substation to continue providing reliable electricity for the 60,000 homes and businesses it serves over the next 30 years.

What's new

We've replaced the first of two transformers that we're replacing at the site.

Transformer being moved to the site.
Transformer being moved to the site.
Transformer on a new pad at the site.
Transformer on a new pad at the site.

Work on the new gas-insulated switchgear building continues to advance.

Gas-insulated switchgear building construction.
Gas-insulated switchgear building, from the alley looking west.
Mainwaring - Gas-insulated switchgear building, from Inverness Street.
Gas-insulated switchgear building, from Inverness Street.

Activities for the remainder of 2024

  • Completing most work on the new gas-insulated switchgear building by November 2024. Equipment installation will start in the first quarter of 2025.
  • Extending the substation fencing to include the new building by November 2024.
  • Completing installation of one of the two transformers being replaced. The transformer will be operational by November 2024.
  • Laying a new underground duct bank along Inverness Street. This work is expected to start in September 2024 and be completed in four to six weeks.
     

Street parking restrictions

Parking is restricted on 47th Avenue on the south side of the street from the alley to approximately halfway to Inverness Street until November 30, 2025. This is to allow safe access and exit for construction traffic and workers on to 47th Avenue. There will be other, shorter term, parking restrictions in the area around the substation to enable work to be completed.

Mainwaring Substation supplies reliable electricity to over 60,000 homes and businesses in East Vancouver. This important piece of our infrastructure needs some upgrades to replace aging equipment.

Upgrades include replacing two transformers in their existing location, constructing a new two-story building to house equipment that is currently outdoors, and removing existing outdoor equipment.

After the project is complete, we’ll landscape the site where required. Below you can see a rendering of the new building on the southwest corner of the substation, the location of the new transformers, a view inside the new building, and the area where equipment will be removed are shown below.

Mainwaring substation post-implementation
Mainwaring substation post-implementation.

Site preparation started in late 2022 and the main construction work started in early 2023. The expected in-service date is December 2026.

Mainwaring Substation, located at the intersection of Inverness Street and 47th Avenue, is a distribution substation built in the 1950s. The substation takes electricity from transmission lines at a higher voltage and converts it to the voltage required to supply power to the 60,000 homes and businesses it serves.

The upgrade is important to ensure that we can continue to meet the needs of the substation's service area which is west to Cambie Street, east to Boundary Road, and north to 12th Avenue.

This upgrade will help meet the increased electricity demand due to load growth and electrification and provide increased reliability to the electrical system by replacing aging equipment that's nearing end-of-life. This upgrade will also prepare for future growth in the area by modifying the substation layout to better prepare for future upgrades.

Contact us

If you have questions about the project or feedback you'd like to share, please contact us at:

Email: projects@bchydro.com
Phone: 604 623 4472
Toll free: 1 866 647 3334