BC Hydro
Type	Crown Corporation
Founded	1961
Headquarters	British Columbia, Canada
Key people	Bob Elton, President & CEO
Industry	Electricity
Employees	4,396 (2005)
Website	www.bchydro.com

BC Hydro is one of the largest electric utilities in Canada, serving more than 3.6 million customers in an area containing over 94 per cent of British Columbia's population whose purpose is to provide, "reliable power, at low cost, for generations." As a provincial Crown corporation, BC Hydro reports to the Minister of Energy and Mines, and is regulated by the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC). BC Hydro operates 30 hydroelectric facilities and three natural gas-fuelled thermal power plants. About 50 per cent of the province's electricity is produced by major hydroelectric generating stations on the Columbia and Peace rivers. BC Hydro's various facilities generate between 43,000 and 54,000 gigawatt hours of electricity annually, depending on prevailing water levels. Image File history File links Bch_logo_col_sm. ... In Commonwealth countries a Crown corporation is a state-controlled company or enterprise (a public corporation). ... 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1961 calendar). ... Motto: Splendor Sine Occasu (Latin: Splendour without diminishment) Official languages English de facto (none stated in law) Flower Pacific dogwood Tree Western Redcedar Bird Stellers Jay Capital Victoria Largest city Vancouver Lieutenant-Governor Iona Campagnolo Premier Gordon Campbell (BC Liberal) Parliamentary representation  - House seats  - Senate seats 36 6 Area... Lightning strikes during a night-time thunderstorm. ... Employment is a contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. ... A website (or Web site) is a collection of web pages, typically common to a particular domain name or subdomain on the World Wide Web on the Internet. ... Motto: Splendor Sine Occasu (Latin: Splendour without diminishment) Official languages English de facto (none stated in law) Flower Pacific dogwood Tree Western Redcedar Bird Stellers Jay Capital Victoria Largest city Vancouver Lieutenant-Governor Iona Campagnolo Premier Gordon Campbell (BC Liberal) Parliamentary representation  - House seats  - Senate seats 36 6 Area... In Commonwealth countries a Crown corporation is a state-controlled company or enterprise (a public corporation). ... Regulator of public utilities in British Columbia, Canada, such as Terasen Gas and BC Hydro. ... Hydroelectric dam diagram The waters of Llyn Stwlan, the upper reservoir of the Ffestiniog Pumped-Storage Scheme in north Wales, can just be glimpsed on the right. ... Natural gas is a gaseous fossil fuel consisting primarily of methane. ... Oil power plant in Iraq A power station or power plant is a facility for the generation of electric power. ...

Electricity is delivered through a network of 18,286 kilometres of transmission lines and 55,254 kilometres of distribution lines. For fiscal 2005, domestic electric sales volume reached 51,205 gigawatt hours. For fiscal 2005, net income was $402 million, which resulted in a return on equity of 14.24 per cent. On March 31, 2005, BC Hydro, its subsidiaries and British Columbia Transmission Corporation had 4,396 employees. Lightning strikes during a night-time thunderstorm. ... The British Columbia Transmission Corporation is a publicly-owned Crown Corporation in the province of British Columbia, Canada. ...

BC Hydro lines in Coquitlam.

Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1704x2272, 1062 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Electric power transmission User:Buchanan-Hermit/photographs/coquitlam Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1704x2272, 1062 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Electric power transmission User:Buchanan-Hermit/photographs/coquitlam Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the... Member of Parliament James Moore (City Centre / Westwood Plateau) (Conservative) Paul Forseth (Burquitlam) (Conservative) Member of the Legislative Assembly Diane Thorne (NDP) Mayor Maxine Wilson Councillors Kent Becker Fin Donnelly Louella Hollington Mae Reid Bill LeClair Barrie Lynch Lou Sekora Population (2005) 113,498 Immigrant Population 39,000 (35%) Languages...

History

BC Electric started as a streetcar and lighting utility in Victoria, Vancouver and New Westminster. Power was generated by coal fired steam plants. Increasing demand in the Edwardian boom years meant BC Electric sought expansions through Hyrdo power at Buntzen Lake, and later at Stave Lake. Sensible growth and expansion of the power, streetcar and coal gas utilitites meant that BC Electric was a major company in the region.

By the first world war, private cars and jitneys were beginning to affect streetcar traffic. Also at this time, sawmills and factories converted to electricity, further increasing load. BC Electric erected more local hydro stations around the province. Similarly, small towns also built and operated their own power stations. More power AC and DC power lines were strung, though DC was on the way out as it could not travel distances.

New dams were planned, such as Seton Portage, but the Great Depression affected business expansion. The post war years, saw increasing government involvement with the power utility. Organizations such as the BC Electrical Commission helped expand its aegis. Finally, BC Hydro was set up in 1962. By this time, BC Hydro had plants at the Hart Dam, Mission Hill, and commenced vast projects on the Peace River, and the Columbia River.

External links

• BC Hydro company website
• Power Pioneers
• British Columbia Transmission Corporation
• History: Founding
• History 1929-45
• History 1945-62