BC Hydro Awards $133 Million Contract to Build Site C Transmission Line

June 25, 2018

BC-based Allteck Line Contractors Inc. will build two new 500 kilovolt, 75 kilometre transmission lines along an existing right-of-way between the Site C project and the Peace Canyon generating station. BC Hydro estimates 130 people will be working on the transmission lines at the peak of construction in early 2019.

The massive Site C project involves building a third dam and generating station on the Peace River in northeast B.C. The project will provide 1,100 megawatts of capacity and about 5,100 gigawatt hours of energy each year to the province’s integrated electricity system.

The value of the transmission line contract is $113 million, which is included in the project budget. Work will begin this summer and is expected to finish in 2023.

Allteck has signed a labour agreement with the IBEW Local 258 for electrical work, and has committed to hiring, training and retaining Indigenous workers, women, apprentices and local workers.

The contractor has significant experience building transmission lines, including past BC Hydro projects such as the Vancouver Island Transmission Reinforcement project and the Okanagan Transmission Reinforcement project.

BC Hydro had earlier awarded a $33-million contract to Nanaimo-based F&M Installations Ltd. for building the Site C substation. Electrical work includes erecting steel and installing and assembling buswork, power and control cables, grounding, lighting and equipment, protection and control equipment, and a telecommunication tower and equipment.