BC Hydro doubles local trades training funds as Mica expansion starts this spring
REVELSTOKE – With the start of construction on the Mica Units 5 and 6 Project this spring, BC Hydro is offering an additional $60,000 in total to trades training programs given by local colleges, funds that are a direct benefit of the project and designed to help build trades capacity in local communities. Colleges in Revelstoke, Golden, Valemount and Nakusp can apply to receive these additional trades training funds which follow the success of contributions made in 2009 and doubles BC Hydro's total funding of local trades training programs to $120,000.
Local trades training programs supported by BC Hydro to date have involved 46 students. These programs include Okanagan College's 2010 Residential Construction Program in Revelstoke, Selkirk College's 2010 Carpentry Program in Nakusp, and the College of the Rockies' Introduction to Trades program currently underway in Golden.
"BC Hydro is proud to help local people build skills in their own communities and foster economic development as part of our project to install additional generation capacity at Mica Generating Station," said Owen Williams, Project Manager. "We would like to congratulate all the community partners who helped make the Revelstoke, Nakusp and Golden programs supported by the BC Hydro 2009 trades training funding such a success."
"The provision of $120,000 in trades training funding was recommended by the Mica Units 5 and 6 Core Committee who worked with BC Hydro to help identify and address potential project impacts," added Williams. "BC Hydro is committed to working with communities and First Nations to better understand the impacts and opportunities provided by our capital projects and our ongoing operations."
Over the next three years, BC Hydro will be in a regeneration phase, investing to renew and expand the province's electricity system. These investments are required to improve and replace aging facilities that were built primarily between 1950 and 1980, ranging from upgrading dams and generating stations, to building entirely new transmission lines linking existing and new substations, and much more.
BC Hydro will start onsite construction of the Mica Units 5 and 6 Project this spring. In support of the province's Clean Energy Act, the project will install two generating units into currently empty bays at Mica Generating Station resulting in the addition of 1,000 megawatts of capacity to BC Hydro's system. This additional capacity will allow BC Hydro to service roughly 80,000 more homes during peak demand periods when stoves, televisions, computers, and other appliances are all in use.
The Mica Units 5 and 6 Core Committee included representatives of federal, provincial, and local government, First Nations, not for profit groups, and interested stakeholders. The Committee worked from January 2008 until June 2009 to identify and address potential project impacts. All Core Committee recommendations were included as project commitments by the provincial Environmental Assessment Office review.
BC Hydro will consider applications from all area colleges to help fund trades training programs offered within the next two years.
Contact:
Jennifer Walker-Larsen
Stakeholder Engagement Advisor, BC Hydro
Phone: 250 814 6645