West Kelowna Transmission Project WKTP

On February 5, 2015, the Province of British Columbia and BC Hydro announced the West Kelowna Transmission Project. BC Hydro is in the early planning stage for a new, secondary transmission line delivering clean, reliable power to the communities of West Kelowna and Peachland. The new line will strengthen and reinforce the existing transmission network. About 22,000 customers are served by the Westbank Substation and a single 138 kilovolt transmission line. The existing transmission line is 80 kilometers long and runs through rugged, remote terrain susceptible to forest fires and landslides.

A Project Review Committee (PRC) was established is being led by Westbank First Nation in collaboration with Upper Nicola Band, Okanagan Indian Band, and the Okanagan Nation Alliance. The PRC and BC Hydro studied three alternatives for a new, secondary transmission line. In the fall of 2016, BC Hydro, with agreement from the Nation, identified Alternative 2: Westbank Substation to Nicola Substation as the leading alternative. This alternative involves building a new transmission line from Nicola Substation to Westbank Substation using a different route than the existing transmission line.

During the next stage of the project BC Hydro, with support from the PRC, will undertake detailed environmental, socio-economic, archaeological, traditional use and engineering studies for Alternative 2 as the leading alternative.

For more information on WKTP, you can visit BC Hydro’s website.