System Maintenance and Life Extension programs
BC Hydro delivers electricity to its customers through a comprehensive network of transmission and distribution lines, substations, rights-of-way, steel towers and utility poles. Significant investments are needed annually to maintain this vast system and extend the life of assets to ensure a safe, reliable supply of electricity to customers.
Program details
This year priority will be placed on:
- Safety and detailed condition assessment inspections and preventive maintenance
- Substation upgrades, including security improvements, roof replacements, aging circuit breaker replacements, transformers, switchgear, protection and other improvements and maintenance to ensure the safety and security of these essential facilities
- Replace obsolete and aging telecom infrastructure
- Replacing aging and rotting wood pole structures
- Seismic upgrades to structures and facilities
- Replacing end-of-life conductors, insulators, switches and other essential hardware
- Painting steel towers to control corrosion and extend the life of the structures
- Replacing aging underground cables and overhead lines
- Maintaining right-of-way access roads, trails, gates, etc.
- Ongoing vegetation control and maintenance on rights-of-way. Trees falling on lines is the most common cause of outages
Benefits and opportunities
These annual cost-effective programs help sustain a reliable electrical system while minimizing other risks. The key drivers for proactive asset maintenance programs are:
- Safety: maintaining asset condition minimizes risk to personnel and the public
- Reliability: minimizing unplanned equipment outages on the system
- Asset health: ongoing maintenance helps extend the life of assets
- Financial: prudent maintenance helps defer the high cost of replacement and refurbishment
- Environmental: helps BC Hydro comply with evolving environmental regulations
- Risk management: maintenance helps minimize the effects of such external risks as seismic events, extreme weather, forest fires and vandalism
Quick facts
Timeline: 2011
Estimated cost: $458 million for 2011-12
The BC Hydro system includes:
- over 18,000 km of transmission lines, including 436 km of submarine cables
- 57,278 km of distribution lines
- 892,633 utility poles and steel towers
- 272,572 individual transformers
- 292 substations