Columbia Power + Fortis

In 2010, Columbia Power and Columbia Basin Trust (the Trust) formed a formal partnership with Fortis Inc. to construct the Waneta Expansion Project. The agreement saw Fortis with a 51 per cent share of the project, Columbia Power with 32.5 per cent and the Trust with a 16.5 per cent share. Columbia Power acted as project manager on behalf of the partners during construction. The Waneta Expansion Generating Station came into service in 2015. In January 2019, Columbia Power and the Trust announced their intent to purchase Fortis Inc.’s 51 per cent interest in the facility to become 50/50 owners; the sale was concluded in April 2019.

FortisBC operates the Waneta Expansion Generating Station on behalf of Columbia Power and the Trust. Surplus capacity is sold to FortisBC under a long-term capacity purchase agreement. The electricity from the Waneta Expansion is sold to BC Hydro under a long-term energy purchase agreement.

FortisBC also acts as the operations manager at the Arrow Lakes Generating Station, Brilliant Dam + Generating Station and the Brilliant Expansion Generating Station. Columbia Power also has long-term power purchase agreements in place with Fortis for the Brilliant Generating Station and the Brilliant Expansion Generating Station. FortisBC also acts as the dispatch operator for the Brilliant Dam + Generating Station and the Brilliant Expansion Generating Station.