Gordon M. Shrum Generating Station
To increase the reliability and capacity of BC’s energy supply, BC Hydro is reinvesting in the Gordon M. Shrum (GMS) Generating Station.
The biggest of BC Hydro’s generating stations, GMS is one of the most important components of BC Hydro’s electrical system, located next to the W.A.C. Bennett Dam. This station alone supplies approximately 24 per cent of all of BC Hydro’s installed generation capacity. Now more than four decades old, the station requires significant investments to renew aging equipment.
CONSTRUCTION DETAILS
The extensive work to upgrade the station involves eight different projects and eight of the ten generating units at GMS. The most substantial project is the replacement of turbines in five units.
The turbine replacement will take several years to complete with each unit taking several months. Because of the province’s reliance on GMS, the turbines will be replaced in stages.
The remaining projects include:
- replacement of the generator stators on four units
- replacement or rehabilitation of the rotor poles on six units
- replacement of nine transformers
- refurbishment of units to increase capacity
- replacement of the station service system that provides power for the plant controls, battery systems, fire systems and all of the auxiliary systems necessary to run the generators
- capacity increase for three units
BENEFITS AND OPPORTUNITIES
The renewal of GMS is critical to meeting the current and future electricity needs of the province. The turbine replacement will add an additional 177 gigawatt hours of energy per year to the system without using additional water. That’s enough to power 1,500 homes annually.
As GMS is the cornerstone of B.C.’s electrical system, the increase in reliability, availability and operational flexibility of the generating station will add to the overall strength of the BC Hydro electrical system.
QUICK FACTS
- Project cost: $500 million
- Completion date: 2010 to 2017
- Increased capacity: 90 megawatts
- Employment: 114.5 person-years of employment
- GMS supplies approximately 24 per cent of BC Hydro’s installed generating capacity.