Kelowna could face shortages of gas for new housing within three years
While City of Kelowna staff say its utilities are in good shape to handle the rapid growth expected to continue in the coming years, that’s not the case with FortisBC.
The company has done major upgrades to its electrical transformers in Kelowna, but has been stopped from building a $327 million natural gas pipeline expansion by the BC Utilities Commission.
“Although we are disappointed in the decision, we are encouraged to see the BC Utilities Commission agrees there is a capacity shortfall in the region that requires a solution,” Gary Toft, senior advisor for corporate communication for FortisBC, said in an email to iNFOnews.ca.
“With the goal of meeting our customers’ energy needs, we will be filing a mitigation plan with the BC Utilities Commission before July 31, 2024.”
FortisBC applied in Nov. 2020 for approval for the Okanagan Capacity Upgrade that would have included about 30 kilometres of gas pipeline between Penticton and Chute Lake.
That was rejected by the BC Utilities Commission in December.
“FortisBC indicated that it expects to be unable to meet the growing demand with its existing pipeline infrastructure, as early as the winter of 2026/2027,” the company said in a news release following the ruling.
The BC Utilities Commission ruling said the FortisBC application didn’t take into account that demand for gas might flatten or decline over the next 20 years due to things like the province’s CleanBC Roadmap, changes to the building code to reduce emissions and FortisBC’s own renewable gas review, the news release said.
It gave the company until July 31 to submit short-term mitigation plans.
“The plan will examine potential short-term solutions to ensure customers’ energy demands are met in the event of a one in 20-year cold weather event occurring in the 2026/27 winter or subsequent period,” FortisBC’s corporate communications advisor Marcus Anderson said in separate email to iNFOnews.ca.
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