FortisBC planning $200M pipeline east of Penticton
FortisBC has unveiled early-stage plans for a new natural gas pipeline that would run north along the east side of Penticton and Naramata to the Chute Lake area.
The 30-kilometre line isn’t intended to service any specific new developments right now, according to company spokesman Grace Peach, but rather is meant to add capacity to accommodate future growth in the region and strengthen the system as a whole to better serve its 90,000 customers.
Peach said the majority of the steel, 30-centimetre-diameter pipe would be installed in existing right-of-ways, while FortisBC is also planning broad consultation with local governments, First Nations and private landowners.
She said she didn’t anticipate the same level of opposition seen in northwestern B.C. this past winter against the Coastal GasLink project, which will carry gas from northeastern B.C. to tidewater for export.
“I think it’s important to remember this is a local utility expansion,” said Peach. “This gas line is serving the homes and businesses that use gas on a day-to-day basis and serving the growth we’re expecting to see in the Okanagan.”
The project will cost upwards of $200 million, which will translate into an extra $6 per year for the average FortisBC gas customer.
“For projects like this,” she added, “the cost of the expansion is borne across all of our customers so everyone can benefit by having a stronger system.”
But it’s far from a done deal.
The company is hosting a pair of phone-in town hall meetings April 30 and May 6, plus accepting feedback online.
Peach said any changes to the proposed routing resulting from the consultations will be incorporated in the application package that goes to the B.C. Utilities Commission later this year.
If the BCUC approves the pipeline, construction is expected to start in 2021 and take two years. For more information, call 1-888-592-7704, email okanaganupgrade@fortisbc.com or visit talkingenergy.ca/okanagan.