Waneta Expansion Project Community Day a great success

by Keith Powell — July 02, 2013

The partners in the Waneta Expansion Project — Fortis Inc., Columbia Power Corporation, and Columbia Basin Trust — welcomed over 1,500 guests to the project yesterday to celebrate Community Day.

“This is a great opportunity to showcase a clean, renewable energy project that is growing the economy in the Columbia Basin by providing 350 good paying jobs and over $150 million in economic benefits,” said Bill Bennett, minister of Energy and Mines. “Once completed, the expansion will provide enough clean, cost effective energy to power about 60,000 homes per year.”

Tours of the construction site occurred throughout the day. Participants were transported from the festivities site to the construction site by bus with stops at the intake and powerhouse areas where project representatives were waiting to share the project’s progress to date. The celebration also included all-day entertainment, First Nations cultural presentations, live music, children’s activities, a complimentary barbecue and informational displays.

Currently, there are over 350 people working directly on the project with a local hire rate of 75 per cent. To date, local spending on goods and services has exceeded $150 million. With a focus on a high standard of quality, safety and environmental protection, the project has logged over 1.5 million person-hours with no major safety or environmental incidents.

The partners would like to acknowledge the hard work and commitment of the contractors in preparing the construction site to host the public. Tour participants were thrilled to have this rare opportunity to experience a large scale capital project while still under construction.

The Waneta Expansion Project is a partnership between Fortis Inc., Columbia Power Corporation, and Columbia Basin Trust. Columbia Power manages construction of the project of on behalf of the partnership.

The project is on budget and is scheduled for completion in the spring of 2015. For more information please visit Columbia Power.