B.C. Hydro is hosting an online open house on an emergency replacement project for an underground power transmission cable between Victoria and Esquimalt.
The virtual open house on the project, which could begin next year, is set for noon on Feb. 29.
B.C. Hydro discovered “widespread cable corrosion” when it repaired the 230-kilovolt cable last August near the Gorge Waterway.
The line had suffered a leak, spilling about 255 litres of coolant oil in a park near the Selkirk Trestle, with some of that oil making its way into the Gorge.
Built in 1980, the approximately 2.7 kilometre-long cable runs between the Horsey Substation on Topaz Avenue in Victoria to the Esquimalt substation on Devonshire Road and is one of four key underground transmission cables in the capital region.
Engineering and environmental studies are underway for the replacement cable project, which is likely to follow the existing cable route, including a 400-metre underwater crossing along the bottom of the Gorge Waterway between Arbutus Park and Banfield Park.
B.C. Hydro employees told Esquimalt council recently that geotechnical drilling will be done to determine the route, and environmental studies will be conducted to take into account nearby flora such as eelgrass.
The current cable uses mineral oil as insulation, which can leak. The proposed replacement will use polyethylene plastic for insulation that has increased power-transmission capacity.
A separate 7.1-kilometre power transmission cable connecting two substations in Victoria and Saanich is also being considered for replacement in the next three years.
That line, which runs between the Horsey substation and the Goward substation opposite Camosun College’s Interurban campus, went into service in 1976 and is currently at “moderate” risk of failure.
No specific cost estimates for either cable replacement project have been made available so far, but the Victoria-Saanich replacement cable is expected to cost more than $100 million.
Those wanting to attend the virtual open house can register at bchydro.com/energy-in-bc/projects/victoria-esquimalt-cable.html.
