Infrastructure upgrades enter third year and benefits continue to grow

May 31, 2022

Surrey, B.C. ̶ May 31, 2022: FortisBC Energy Inc. (“FortisBC”) will soon be starting its third year of construction on the Inland Gas Upgrades (“IGU”) project. The project involves upgrading sections of our existing gas line infrastructure to allow the use of “in-line inspection” tools to get detailed information about the interior condition of each line. This up-to-date in-line inspection technology will support planning and management of proactive maintenance work.

In 2022, we will be working in 12 communities throughout the province.

• In the Cariboo-Northern Interior we are returning to work in Prince George and Mackenzie and starting upgrades to our gas line in Quesnel.
• In the Kootenay region we are returning to work in Cranbrook, Skookumchuck, Sparwood and Elkford.
• We are also upgrading our gas line in Kamloops and our line that extends from Salmon Arm through Enderby and Armstrong to the Township of Spallumcheen.

FortisBC is committed to ensuring the IGU project provides social and economic benefits to B.C. communities. In 2021 $38.5 million of project expenditure went to 190 B.C.-based businesses and, of that, $14.2 million was local to the seven communities where construction occurred. Community investment also included support to local initiatives like a community bus in Mackenzie, an outdoor venue in Elkford and forest trail maintenance in Cranbrook, among others.

Through targeted procurement, training and employment efforts we have successfully increased the opportunities for local and Indigenous-owned businesses year-over-year. For example, in 2020 approximately $750,000 of IGU expenditures were to Indigenous vendors local to the three communities where we worked. In 2021, this increased to $9.3 million across seven communities. In Cranbrook, we contracted ProActive Safety & First Aid to provide safety services for our Kootenay work sites, and then partnered with them to create a safety officer internship for a member of the Ktunaxa Nation. Through this initiative, we supported a local business while also providing a training opportunity to develop Indigenous talent. We look forward to building on this and other successes by supporting new communities and opportunities as the IGU project continues over the coming years.

To learn more about the five-year-long Inland Gas Upgrades project please visit the project webpage at https://talkingenergy.ca/inland. Alternatively, interested parties can connect with us at 1-855-576-7225 or by email at [email protected].

 

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