The provincial government announced $5.8 billion over ten years in capital spending for BC hydro's electricity.
Elected officials and BC Hydro staff gathered at Vernon’s substation to announce the funding.
Vernon itself will see $50 million to expand the distribution system here, which will add 15,000 news homes.
That’s part of a total $450 million pledged to crucial transmission upgrades. Other projects include the West Kelowna Transmission and Westbank Upgrade project, upgrades to support electrification at the Highland Valley Copper mine near Kamloops, and Bridge River project.
All the upgrades will allow for more homes to be built in the Southern Interior, as the region continues to grow. Maureen Daschuk with BC Hydro said by 2046 there is expected to be 440,000 people living in the area.
Also being invested, is about 1.2 billion to address aging infrastructure and seismic issues at the La Joie dam facility on the Bridge River. The government says about $3.8 billion will also go towards dam safety, equipment refurbishments, replacements and improvements to maintain operations at facilities on the Bridge River system, and on the Columbia system.
BC Hydro says about $275 million will also be invested in substations to replace end-of-life equipment at Natal substation, replace aging infrastructure, such as reactors and switchyard equipment, and upgrade station fire protection and telecommunication systems.
In addition to more homes, the projects will also create jobs through the region, with Josie Osborne, Minister of Energy, estimating construction projects will support between 10,500 and 12,500 jobs each year.
Vernon-Monashee MLA Harwinder Sandhu reiterated the idea that clean energy projects will help build jobs.
"Taking care of climate, it creates jobs too, even though others can make us believe that taking care of climate somehow is threat to jobs," said Sandhu. "No, it's called creating clean, innovative economy with better, long, lasting, sustainable opportunity for all of us."
Daschuk, Osborne and Sandhu were joined by Mayor of Vernon Victor Cumming and president of the Greater Vernon Chamber of Commerce Kirndeep Nahal.
