BC Transmission Corp plans massive system upgrades

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA - BC Transmission Corporation (BCTC) has filed its Ten Year Capital Plan with the BC Utilities Commission, outlining $5.1 billion in expenditures designed to meet the increased clean electricity demands of British Columbia's growing economy.

"BCTC is planning for the future by ensuring British Columbia's electricity system has the necessary capacity to meet the needs of our growing population," said Jane Peverett, BCTC President and CEO. "We are working to improve reliability, reinforce existing assets, and connect new sources of green energy to the grid."

The new capital plan also outlines measures BCTC will take to support key objectives of The BC Energy Plan: A Vision for Clean Energy Leadership, including innovation and enhanced reliability. Key actions include enabling integration of clean and renewable energy, measures to implement new technologies to improve the grid, including system modernization, replacement of existing assets, and innovative solutions to reduce line losses.

"We're looking across our network to find places where new and innovative solutions can be used to modernize the provincial grid," said Peverett. "For example, the new Interior to Lower Mainland power line will include technology improvements that will save enough electricity to supply 30,000 to 50,000 homes. We will also have a new state of the art energy management system installed January 2008 that will enable us to run the grid to maximum efficiency, increasing service to customers."