VICTORIA — The B.C. government is launching an upgrade on the provincial hydro system in an effort to increase the power supply by seven per cent.

Energy Minister Adrian Dix says the largest of the projects will expand the Revelstoke Dam by adding a sixth generating unit for an additional 500 megawatts of power by 2032.

The minister says the first four units at the Revelstoke generating station will also be updated, while six other generating stations and the W.A.C. Bennett Dam will be part of the modernization plan.

Dix says the investments are the best and most cost-effective way to unlock more power from the system that is already generating power.

The government says in a statement that the upgrades to the Revelstoke dam will generate about $60 million in local spending and employ up to 180 workers, but it did not provide a cost estimate.

The hydro revamp plan comes days after the government announced it was seriously looking at building two more hydro dams, one on Bute Inlet on the central coast and a fourth dam for the Peace River known as Site E.

Dix says the government will provide details as the projects unfold, but he promised savings.

“The overall costing is a small fraction of a new build, but we are not stopping at this,” he says.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 17, 2026.

Wolfgang Depner, The Canadian Press