Okanagan Capacity Mitigation Project

Demand for natural gas has been growing in recent years. For example, the Interior Transmission System (ITS), which services the Okanagan region, saw an increase in customers by the end of 2023 that surpassed estimates provided by FortisBC in the 2023 Peak Demand Forecast. FortisBC is projecting a similar rate of growth to continue over the next several years. The OCMP has been designed accordingly to help ensure customers in the growing Okanagan region have the energy they need to heat their homes and businesses on the coldest days of the year.

The Okanagan is one of the fastest-growing regions by population in British Columbia and based on forecasts of continued population growth, a solution is required by the winter of 2026/27 to help meet growing demand for natural gas on the coldest days of the year.

If approved by the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC), a new small-scale liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage and send-out facility will be developed in Kelowna adjacent to an existing natural gas station on industrial zoned land owned by FortisBC. The OCMP proposes annual transportation of LNG to Kelowna from our Tilbury facility in Delta, so that it can be stored and directly injected into our distribution system as needed during cold weather.

The OCMP Kelowna small-scale facility will have a storage capacity of 1,140 cubic metres of LNG to account only for meeting peak energy demand during the coldest days of the year. This is equal to just over 1.5 per cent of the volume capacity of both tanks combined at our Tilbury facility (74,000 cubic metres) in Delta or just over 1.6 per cent of the volume capacity of our Mt. Hayes LNG storage facility (69,000 cubic metres) in Ladysmith.

Updated December 11, 2024

FortisBC considered various alternatives to meet the revised planning criteria set by the BCUC, including trucking LNG, developing LNG and CNG peak shaving facilities, or a shorter length pipeline solution. Upon detailed evaluation, the small-scale LNG facility was determined to be the best solution for the region.

This project will help ensure there is enough supply to meet our customers’ needs and serve all communities connected to our regional system for several years, even when operating at peak demand. We will also continue to monitor system demand and growth projections in the Okanagan to plan appropriately for the future.

When natural gas is cooled to a liquid, it becomes much more condensed, taking up approximately 1/600th of the volume of traditional natural gas and resulting in greater efficiency when stored or transported. Additionally, the proposed site in Kelowna is already equipped with necessary infrastructure to be able to vaporize and directly inject the stored LNG into our system.

Updated December 11, 2024

FortisBC explored other locations for this project and determined that the selected site was the most technically and financially feasible option to help meet growing demand for energy by the winter of 2026/27. 

With the proposed site also sharing the same grounds as FortisBC’s existing Kelowna #1 Gate Station, there is infrastructure already in place to be able to vaporize and directly inject LNG into our distribution system without needing to compress it first. As a result, the project footprint and cost will be smaller there will be minimal added disruption or noise impacting nearby businesses and residents when the facility is in use.

Storage tanks at the OCMP facility are expected to be empty for much of the year. Each fall, LNG produced at our Tilbury facility in Delta will be loaded and transported to fill the tanks in Kelowna. Any stored LNG that naturally evaporates at the facility will be injected into our distribution system throughout the year.

We have submitted our application to the BCUC, and we are now awaiting their decision. If approved, construction is expected to begin in 2026.

Without the OCMP—which proposes gradual transportation of LNG to Kelowna each fall—there could be a need for up to nine semi-trucks per day transporting LNG in trailers into the community on the coldest days of the year during times when road conditions can be challenging.