2nd major power line for West Kelowna can’t go across bridge

The idea of stringing West Kelowna’s second major power line across the William R. Bennett Bridge has hit a roadblock.

The Ministry of Transportation says it will not allow a high-transmission line to be put on the bridge, connecting the FortisBC system in Kelowna with the BC Hydro network that serves the Westside.

And the City of Kelowna opposes the installation of any unsightly “overhead infrastructure” that would be needed to send power to the Westside.

Given the objections, it seems all but certain now that West Kelowna’s new transmission line will come from the Nicola Valley.

That route is currently the “leading alternative,” according to details of a BC Hydro update on planning for the second transmission line to be given today to West Kelowna city council.

The overland route is said by the utility to be the cheapest and safest, and poses the least environmental and socio-economic impacts.

A third option, stringing a high-voltage power line up Westside Road to connect with the BC Hydro system at Vernon, has already been dismissed as impractical.

Planning work on a new line from the Nicola Valley to West Kelowna will continue for a “couple of years,” according to BC Hydro information to be presented at today’s council meeting.

West Kelowna city council campaigned for a second transmission line after several prolonged power outages in recent years. Then-premier Christy Clark, the MLA for the Westside, ordered BC Hydro to look at options for building such a line.