The facility is sited near the Waneta Dam and powerhouse facilities on the Pend d’Oreille River, south of Trail, British Columbia.
Subject to negotiation and completion of definitive agreements, Fortis will own 51% of the Waneta Expansion and will operate and maintain the non-regulated investment when the facility comes into service, which is expected in spring 2015.
Federal and provincial environmental assessment approvals are in place for the project.
The Waneta Expansion will become part of the Canal Plant agreement and will receive fixed energy and capacity entitlements based upon long-term average water flows, thereby reducing hydrologic risk associated with the project.
The energy, approximately 630GWh, (and associated capacity required to deliver such energy) for the Waneta Expansion will be sold to BC Hydro under a long-term energy purchase agreement at prices comparable to those for projects recently accepted by BC Hydro under its 2008 Clean Power Call.
The surplus capacity, equal to 234MW on an average annual basis, will be sold to FortisBC under a long-term capacity purchase agreement at a price within the range of alternatives outlined in FortisBC’s Resource Plan filed with the British Columbia Utilities Commission in May 2009.
Each partner will be responsible to fund its share of the construction of the project, and Fortis expects to initially finance its share of costs through existing committed credit facilities, which will be permanently financed through a combination of equity and debt.
