BC Hydro’s new Site C dam now at 100% capacity, powering up to 500,000 homes | Daily Hive

Site C hydroelectric dam, August 2025. (BC Hydro)

BC Hydro has marked a massive milestone in its controversial, decade-long Site C construction project, successfully commissioning the sixth and final generating unit at the new massive hydroelectric facility on the Peace River in the northeastern area of the province.

With all units now operational, the Site C dam can produce more than 1,100 megawatt (MW) of electricity — enough to power roughly 500,000 homes annually. The new capacity boosts BC Hydro’s total electricity supply by about eight per cent, providing a significant increase in energy reliability and meeting the province’s growing demand for electricity.

Site C includes an earthfill dam that is 60 metres (200 ft.) in height, 1 km long, and 0.5 km wide. The compacted-concrete buttress is up to 70 metres (230 ft.) high and forms a stable foundation for the generation station and dam itself.

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“Bringing the final generating unit online is a proud moment for everyone at BC Hydro,” said Charlotte Mitha, president and CEO of BC Hydro, in a statement this past weekend.

“Site C represents years of dedication, innovation, collaboration and overcoming challenges. Now that Site C is in full operation, it will serve our customers for the next 100 years and play a critical role in ensuring a stable and reliable electricity system.”

site c hydroelectric dam bc hydro august 2025

Site C hydroelectric dam, August 2025. (BC Hydro)

Major construction work began in July 2015, and the project’s total cost was last stated at $16 billion in 2021.

This is the most expensive infrastructure project in B.C.’s history, but it almost did not happen.

Shortly after the BC NDP formed government in 2017, they seriously considered cancelling the Site C project, which had been advanced by the previous BC Liberal government. Critics at the time, including the BC Green Party and some members of the BC NDP, argued that Site C’s electrical capacity would not be necessary in the long run.

However, with billions of dollars already invested and billions more required to restore the site if construction were halted, the BC NDP-led government ultimately chose to continue with the project.

In 2023, BC Hydro announced it would need much more additional electricity much sooner than anticipated, as early as 2028 — even after accounting for the 2025 capacity increase from Site C’s full operation — due to population and economic growth, and the accelerating adoption of battery-electric vehicles and the electrification of building and mechanical systems.

In December 2024, building on the 2023 announcement that it would need more power and after conducting a bidding process, BC Hydro announced its selection of 10 private sector-led projects, all of which focus on wind power. Each project’s generation capacity ranges between 94 MW and 200 MW, equivalent to between 8.5 per cent and up to 18 per cent of Site C’s generation capacity. All of these new wind power projects combined will provide up to about 5,000 gigawatt hours (GWh) per year of intermittent electricity, which is nearly the same output capacity as Site C and goes beyond the original call for 3,000 GWh.

In June 2025, BC Hydro launched another bidding process seeking proposals for capacity and baseload electricity projects, including geothermal, pumped storage, and hydroelectricity — providing backup for intermittent electricity projects, such as solar and wind, including the projects announced in December 2024. Another bidding process calls for proposals that help conserve electricity in homes and buildings.

The provincial electricity utility has plans to issue a second major procurement process to acquire up to 5,000 GWh per year from large, clean, and renewable projects — in addition to the first 10 wind projects announced in December 2024.

Over the coming years, BC Hydro will also spend tens of billions of dollars on new transmission lines and numerous new and expanded substations, especially in Metro Vancouver’s communities, where rapid urban growth and significant densification are on the horizon.

Site C hydroelectric dam, August 2025. (BC Hydro)

With full generation capacity now in place, crews will turn their attention to completing Site C’s powerhouse and generating station, paving access roads, final equipment commissioning, and resolving any deficiencies. Other ongoing work includes backfilling the tunnels used to divert the Peace River and revegetating land no longer needed for construction.

The process to fill Site C’s 83-km-long reservoir took 11 weeks, concluding in November 2024. It increased the water level by up to about 43 metres (141 ft.) over an area of 93 sq. km.

Site C is the third hydroelectric dam on the Peace River within B.C., joining the W.A.C. Bennett Dam, completed in 1968, and the Peace Canyon Dam, completed in 1980.

Located downstream from both existing facilities, Site C takes advantage of the river’s significant drop in elevation to generate power efficiently.

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