[Editor's Note: This article was updated on February 27 to add comments from FortisBC.]
In what can only be described as a shocking letter, the Urban Development Institute said this week that development in Kelowna may come to a standstill as a result of insufficient electrical infrastructure.
"Kelowna's real estate development industry is facing significant uncertainty as FortisBC has indicated it cannot guarantee power availability for new projects over the next several years," the Okanagan chapter of the UDI, which represents the development industry, said in the letter. "In recent weeks, several developers have been informed that power cannot be assured for projects until 2027 to 2029."
FortisBC serves as the regional electricity provider for the Southern Interior region of British Columbia. In Fall 2024, FortisBC said that it plans to spend $157 million towards electrical infrastructure in the region over the next three years, but that is still pending approval from the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC), the Province's regulatory agency for utilities, and UDI Okanagan said the investment was "neither sufficient nor timely to accommodate Kelowna's rapid population growth."
"Without a reliable electricity supply, development in the region is at risk of stalling, with some projects potentially being abandoned altogether," they said. "This has the potential to disrupt the City of Kelowna's ability to meet its provincial housing targets."
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