East Vancouver Substation
We're planning a new substation in East Vancouver to meet the changing needs of the community and to replace the Murrin Substation on Main Street, which is nearing end-of-life.
What's new
March 2025
We've awarded the first two stages of our East Vancouver Substation architectural and engineering contract to WSP in Canada.
WSP is an international engineering and professional services firm, headquartered in Montreal, with a significant presence in Vancouver. Their team has experience designing complex industrial facilities, including our Mount Pleasant Substation in 2014.
This award follows a fair, transparent and competitive procurement process. WSP won the West End Substation project contract, which included an "option" to support the East Vancouver Substation project, too. We're making positive progress together on the West End Substation project and are pleased to continue collaborating with WSP on this additional work.
WSP will lead a team of experienced engineers, architects and technical specialists to help us design a safe and reliable substation, and we'll share our plans with the community in the coming months.
We're in the earliest stages of planning a new, above-ground, indoor substation in East Vancouver to meet the changing electricity needs of the community. A substation is used to convert high-voltage electricity to a lower voltage for use in homes and businesses.
The East Vancouver Substation will eventually replace Murrin Substation on Main Street. Murrin Substation was built in 1947 – it's nearing-end-life and doesn't meet modern seismic safety standards.
It's also important to have a substation close to the centre of where electricity is needed so that it can be delivered efficiently and reliably. Since Murrin was built, we've seen the demand for electricity shift east of Murrin, which is why we're planning to build the new substation closer to the centre of where customers are using power.
This new substation will be located at 303 Vernon Drive, north of Hastings Street, in an industrial-zoned area.
East Vancouver Substation location map
Select the project map [PDF, 1.4 MB] to view it at a larger size.
We purchased the site for this new substation in 2017 so that we would have enough space, in the right location, when the new substation was needed.
We're at the earliest stage of planning this project. The earliest that construction could begin is 2027 and we expect it would take about four years to build the substation.
We'll follow our usual process of informing and engaging with Indigenous Nations, stakeholders, and the community on this project. We expect that you'll have the opportunity to share input on the design and construction plans for the new substation.
Reports and documents
- East Vancouver substation project map [PDF, 1.4 MB]
Contact us
If you'd like to learn more about the project, please contact us at:
Email: projects@bchydro.com
Phone: 604 341 1304