Discover two of B.C.'s most powerful dams this summer
HUDSON’S HOPE – The visitor centres for BC Hydro’s W.A.C. Bennett and Peace Canyon dams are open for the summer season. The public can get tours of two of the highest producing hydroelectric dams in the province.
And in support of National Electricity Month, BC Hydro will offer two-for-one admission every weekend in June (Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays) for all visitor centres across our system. Admission to the Peace Canyon Visitor Centre is always free.
The W.A.C. Bennett dam Visitor Centre offers a wide range of exhibits, an audio-visual theatre, a gift shop and café. An underground tour of the facility includes a bus ride down to the base of the dam, and a walk through the powerhouse station.
The centre also features interactive displays, which show how much human energy and effort it takes to power a conventional light bulb versus a fluorescent bulb, or to power a small television.
The Peace Canyon Visitor Centre offers a wide range of exhibits about the history of the dam and the community of Hudson’s Hope. The displays showcase the achievements of explorers, pioneers and First Nations, and the construction of the Peace Canyon dam. The largest exhibits are about Hadrosaurs, duck-billed dinosaurs that left their tracks along the Peace River.
The W.A.C. Bennett dam and accompanying GM Shrum generating station, have an installed capacity of 2,730 megawatts, which makes it the largest hydroelectric facility in British Columbia. The W.A.C. Bennett dam is also among the world's largest earth-fill dams. The Peace Canyon facility has an installed capacity of 700 megawatts, which makes it the sixth largest hydroelectric generating facility in the province.
Both attractions are among four BC Hydro visitor centres in the province, and will remain open until Sept. 2.