B.C. Hydro proposes deeper cables in substations
B.C. Hydro has tweaked plans for proposed new substations in downtown Vancouver after a quick consultation process.
It will take measures, for instance, to further reduce electromagnetic field levels after hearing concerns from residents.
Those concerns were particularly shared by parents in the West End regarding B.C. Hydro’s proposed underground substation adjacent to Lord Roberts Annex.
“Within park boundaries and the Vancouver School Board property we will bury transmission cables deeper underground than we normally would and will implement magnetic field shielding by encasing the cables in steel,” Jessica McDonald, president and CEO of B.C. Hydro, said in a letter to the school board and park board.
“This will reduce the very low EMF levels even further (a minimum 75 per cent reduction) and should alleviate the public perception of health risks from EMF.”
McDonald said B.C. Hydro will also commission an independent study of current EMF levels at the annex, in the adjacent Nelson Park and at the site of its proposed Yaletown underground substation at Emery Barnes Park. More independent studies would verify EMF levels once the substations are in use, and those studies would be ongoing and levels reported publicly.
B.C. Hydro received 219 feedback forms, of which 53 per cent indicated underground substations were a good idea, most citing an efficient use of valuable land.
For those against the idea, 30 per cent, the two biggest obstacles were proximity to a school and safety concerns regarding EMF.
There are also parties upset over the rushed, five-week con- sultation process and the fact the VSB’s elected trustees were fired last fall and replaced by a government-appointed trustee. A public forum will be held Thursday to discuss those issues, starting at 7 p.m. (doors open at 6:30 p.m.) at St. Andrew’s Wesley United Church at Nelson and Burrard.
There will be four speakers, including Patti Bacchus, former chairwoman of the school board.
The school and park boards are scheduled to reach decisions at board meetings in the last week of March.
B.C. Hydro built the first underground substation in North America, at Cathedral Square at Homer and Dunsmuir, in 1984.
One other North American underground substation is in operation, in Anaheim, while a third is set to open in Toronto this year.