While about two-thirds of the budget for the Plan is for demand-side management initiatives to 2011, a key aspect of the scheme is planning work for the Site C project on Peace river.
In the Plan, the provincial energy utility has budgeted Can$41M (US$38M) for Stage 2 of the planning work for the Site C project, covering definition and consultation in fiscal year 2009-10. The project would be the third large-scale hydro plant on the river.
BC Hydro said that the earliest Site C could be operational, if approved, would be 2019. The plant would use water stored upstream in the Williston Reservoir. It could have an installed capacity of about 900MW and generate approximately 4600GWh of electricity per year.
In addition, the utility has also budgeted Can$30M (US$27.7M) for definition work to 2011 on the Mica upgrade, which would add two generating units to the existing four.
BC Hydro proposes that the two units, to be installed in existing turbine bays, would come into operation in late 2013 and late 2014, respectively.
The Mica plant is located on the Columbia river and has an installed capacity of 1805MW. The plant came into service in 1977.
