About The Project

The John Hart project was initiated in 2007 and was essentially completed by the end of 2019, on budget. 

The project will ensure the continued supply of safe and reliable power on Vancouver Island. 

The Campbell River dams and generating stations have provided safe and reliable power on Vancouver Island since the 1940s. And it’s not always about power generation. These facilities have also provided flood risk management in addition to benefits for fish habitat and reservoir recreation. John Hart’s power generation was the catalyst for Campbell River’s growth. 

The John Hart facility began operating at the end of 1947. There are three key reasons why BC Hydro replaced the old facility:

• Safety. There were seismic risks to the pipelines and generating station – the old facility would not have withstood a low to moderate earthquake; 
• Reliability. To have long term power reliability at the John Hart Generating Station, as the old six unit facility was in poor condition; and 
• Environment. There was a risk to downstream fish habitat from a potential reduction in river flow – 95% of the lower Campbell River comes out of the generating station. 

 The project scope included: 

• Construction of a replacement water intake at the John Hart spillway dam; 
• Replacement of three 1.8-kilometre long penstocks with a 2.1-kilometre long tunnel; and 
• Construction of a new underground generating station and water bypass facility upstream of the existing station. 

InPower BC is a special purpose project company in which SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. has 100 per cent interest. On behalf of BC Hydro, SNC-Lavalin designed and constructed the project, including working and coordinating with international team members on the specialized design and fabrication of components like generators and turbines. 

Project construction began in summer 2014 and concluded at the end of 2019, with the decommissioning and removal of the old facility. Local jobs peaked at about 500 people at the site in June 2017. The project achieved over 3.75 million person hours of work without a lost time accident. Over 100 Vancouver Island suppliers, services and subcontractor companies worked on the project at various stages.