A groundbreaking ceremony was held Monday morning to mark construction of a new B.C. Hydro field office in Prince George.
Scheduled for completion in mid-2014, the $25-million structure will cover 85,000 square feet at the corner of 22nd Avenue and Ospika, next door to the current home, and is expected to last 75 years.
A further $23 million will be spent on demolition and reclamation work and renovation of a neighbouring building for a total of $48 million.
To serve over two-thirds of the province's land base, the office will support 200 staff, mostly technical, design and field staff involved in the maintenance and expansion of Hydro's distribution and transmission systems.
"The new building will consolidate staff and operations from three sites in order to improve work flows through appropriately configured space for vehicle maintenance, storage and inventory of equipment and materials," Hydro spokesperson Bob Gammer said. "This will enable Hydro crews to improve reliability of service through quicker deployment of its resources."
The decision to replace existing work space in Prince George comes after a full review of various options, Gammer added.
"Redevelopment was deemed necessary due to the condition of some facilities with deteriorating buildings, electrical and mechanical systems; impaired emergency response capability and employee safety issues," Gammer said.
Hydro's recently released draft integrated resource management plan outlines several major projects to meet the province's growing demand for electricity, which is forecast to rise as much as 50 per cent over the next 20 years.
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