BC story from Western Investor. The energy within B.C.'s construction sector at the moment could be described as electric, with major project activity recovering to pre-pandemic levels and record demand for housing.
But the power flowing to those new developments needs to be amped up, say city managers.
“There are key areas for development in our city that are challenged for appropriate hydro,” Sean McGill, city manager with Delta, told a recent meeting of commercial real estate association NAIOP Vancouver.
Delta regularly receives calls from developers saying they’re powerless, an issue also facing civic projects in municipalities across the region.
“We’re building arenas that we’re now told that in three years’ time we can’t open because there’s not enough power,” Vincent Lalonde, city manager with Surrey, told NAIOP.
The province’s second largest city, Surrey is in the midst of an ambitious capital program but projects like the Cloverdale Sport and Ice Complex – set to open in fall 2024 – have been jeopardized because BC Hydro’s distribution grid can’t keep up.
This is despite the fact that the three-rink arena, like many new public and private projects, have been designed to the highest standards of energy efficiency. But without power, there’s no glory in their carbon-friendly story.
“It’s a huge impediment,” Lalonde said. “We have an acute demand for power.”