History

December 2003 marked the centenary of the Lake Buntzen Power Plant, the Lower Mainland’s first hydroelectric generating station. On December 17, 1903 the then Trout Lake Power Station (after 1905 Lake Buntzen) started and produced the first hydroelectric power in the Lower Mainland of BC. Two days later, on December 19th, the City of Vancouver was first lit by water power.  The Province newspaper of the day printed an article titled “Steam discarded in favour of Water Power”.  Prior to 1903, the electricity used to power the streetcars, interurbans, lighting, as well as power industry in the area came from a thermal electric plant located on the west side of Main Street, between Georgia and Prior Streets in Vancouver.



The growth in the demand for power in the early years up to 1913 rose as high as 30% per year. The BC Electric Company, through its predecessor companies had sought to find local sites for a water plant to produce electricity.  In 1895, the Consolidated Railway Company planned and called tenders for the construction of a plant on the Seymour River.  A survey authorized by this company in 1896 of the power potential of the Lake Coquitlam and Stave Lake, was inherited by the BC Electric Railway Company after its incorporation in April, 1897 to assume control of the assets of the Bankrupt Consolidated Company.  Due to a technical problem with the wording of the Provincial Consolidated Water Clauses Act of 1897, BC Electric had to create a subsidiary company, The Vancouver Power Company on January 28, 1898 in order to build a water power plant.

The Vancouver Power Company decided the Lake Coquitlam site was superior to the other available power sites. The proposal initially called for the building of a five mile long flume and ditch to carry Lake Coquitlam water to sea level at Port Moody. In an 1898 report presented by the engineering firm of Garden, Hermon and Berwell, it was noted that there was only a 2 1/2 mile wide ridge separating Lake Coquitlam from what was then two lakes, Trout and Lake Beautiful  (in 1905 to become Lake Buntzen). The engineers suggested a tunnel be blasted through the ridge and a dam at the outlet of Trout Lake be constructed to allow the lake to be used as a forebay for a sea level power plant located 400 feet below the lake.

The first step in the process of beginning the project was the acquisition of land and water rights to Lake Coquitlam and Trout Lake. Active negotiations began in early 1900 and due to stiff opposition from citizens of New Westminster who’s water supply came from Lake Coquitlam, and from the proponents of the Stave Lake power proposal, permission to begin construction was not granted until early 1902. Construction of the camp facilities at what was to become Buntzen Bay began in February 1902. By June construction had begun on the sites of the Power House, Trout Lake Dam, the grading for the pipeline-penstocks and the Lake Coquitlam-Trout Lake Hydraulic tunnel. The plan for the Power House called for a building capable of holding ultimately four units, each of 3,000 horsepower and producing 1,500 Kilowatts of power. The building was to be of solid masonry construction with walls 3 feet thick, 90 feet high at the peak of the roof, 34 feet wide and 156 feet long.



The machinery for the plant was to consist of water wheels from the Pelton Company of San Francisco and the generators, exciters, transformers and control panels from Westinghouse. The voltage generated was to be 2,000 volts with the transformers, housed in a reinforced concrete building adjacent to the power house, upping the voltage to 20,000 volts. The Trout Lake Dam was constructed of reinforced concrete with a height of 53 feet, a length of 360 feet, and a width at the base of 15 feet topping at 7 feet. Though only one pipeline of 54 inches in diameter and 1800 feet long was to be placed in the initial installation, the bellmouths and valves for the full ten units as well as the two exciters were placed in the concrete of the dam. The first 800 feet of the pipeline was wooden while remaining length was boiler plate which gradually reduced from 54 inches to 42 inches at the Power House. The exciter pipeline was 24 inches in diameter and made entirely of boilerplate.

The power from the Lake Buntzen Power Station was carried to Vancouver through a pole line 17 miles long and which crossed Burrard Inlet at Barnet Beach on two steel towers. The southern tower was 140 feet high and the northern tower built on a high bluff was 60 feet high. The clear span between the towers was 1/2 mile in length and was 200 feet above the water of the inlet. Two wooden poles followed the Barnet Wagon road to the Pole Line Road (now Sperling Avenue), with one reaching Vancouver via Hastings St. to the newly built Vancouver Sub- station and the other line built south along the Pole Line Road to the Burnaby Substation, at the site of the old Burnaby thermal electric plant and tram barn.

The Buntzen Power Plant produced its first power on December 17, 1903 and as mentioned earlier, supplied water power to Vancouver two days later. The project was initially to cost $800,000 but ended up costing $1,200,000. The demand for power increased so rapidly over the next few years that by 1906 the fourth unit originally planned for the existing Power House was installed. Three more units of increasingly larger types were installed over the years to January 1912.



Due to problems with foundations, the remaining three units were installed in a new plant (Buntzen #2) located 1/2 a mile south of the old plant. Between 1909 and 1911 the water tunnel between Lake Coquitlam and Lake Buntzen was enlarged from 9 feet by 9 feet to 14 feet by 14 feet to allow the installation of the final three units. This also required the rebuilding and replacement of the original 15 foot high log crib Lake Coquitlam Dam with an 85 foot high hydro filled (water washed sand and gravel) dam with a water proof clay core and rock covered surface. A water gate (tower) was installed to provide water to New Westminster and a sluice gate (tower) to lower the level of the Lake when required. The dam was completed in January 1914.  Due to the economic downturn in 1913, which reduced the demand for power, the tenth unit did not have its pipeline assembled to allow its use until 1919. This marked the end of the original building program.

The style of machinery available for power production in 1903 to 1913 required people to operate and maintain them. This resulted in a small community being developed above the Power House on the steep slopes of the hillside. Over the nearly 50 years the original plant produced power (1903 to 1950) families would be located at the site and endure the rainy, foggy weather, lack of flat ground and the need to leave by boat to seek groceries, medical attention and any form of entertainment not satisfied by tennis, badminton or fishing. One lady who resided at Buntzen from 1937 to 1943 and raised two children there commented that dogs and woman had to leave Buntzen before 10 years or they would become bushed (a little odd).

In 1950 the original four unit Power House was demolished by a planned explosion (it took two tries as the old time builders had constructed the three foot thick walls to last). The last three units of the old Buntzen #1 Power Plant were replaced in 1951 by a single unit which produced nearly three times the Power of the seven old units.  This new unit was capable of being operated by remote control, thus the people were no longer needed and by 1964 when Buntzen #2 ceased regular operations, the community had begun to decay into the soil of the rain forest it was located in. The old Trout Lake Dam was the next to be replaced, being reconstructed to 57 feet in height in 1965. In 1971, the area around the reservoir became a recreational area. Between 1980 and the mid 1990’s, upgrades were effected on the Lake Coquitlam Dam. The two towers carrying the transmission cables across Burrard Inlet at Barnet Beach were replaced in 1989, not due to structural defects but because of a concern regarding earthquake proofing.

Today the Lake Buntzen Power Plant produces less than 0.4% of the power produced by the generating facilities owned by B.C. Hydro. However it has the distinction of being the first hydroelectric generating plant to supply the Lower Mainland of B.C. In the early years it was considered to be an engineering marvel and after nearly 100 years still produces inexpensive power.

The use of Lake Coquitlam water has changed over the last few decades as the Greater Vancouver Regional District draws more and more water from the Lake to supply drinking water for the regions growing population. The first plan to use the water of Lake Coquitlam was by the Coquitlam Water Works Company in 1885. The plan called for a pipeline to serve Vancouver, Burnaby and New Westminster. The B.C. Electric purchased the company in 1902 to use the water rights for power production. However, the plan to supply the region with drinking water developed nearly 120 years ago was achieved this year with the completion of a 60 inch pipeline from Lake Coquitlam to the Little Mountain Reservoir in Vancouver. By the year 2050 it is suggested that all the water from Lake Coquitlam would be required for drinking water supplies with little left for power generation. But by then the 1951 Buntzen #1 replacement, if it has not itself been replaced will be nearing its’ centenary. Buntzen #2 with two of the three original 1913 Doble water wheels and Dick-Kerr generators is the oldest still operational plant in the B.C. Hydro system. Unlike the newer plants, Buntzen #2 still has its’ exciters which are used to energize the main generators, and this enables the plant to do a black start should there be a system wide failure as experienced in Eastern Canada and the United States earlier this year.



The use of power produced has changed over the last century. In 1903 95% of the electric energy was used for the streetcar and interurban lines (transit) with the remainder split between street lighting, industry and a very small amount for lighting in homes. As the use of electric powered household appliances became more common, the split between transit and other uses changed. By the 1920’s it was nearly half-and-half.  Today 95% plus of the electrical energy generated in the province goes to industry and home use, with very little to transit.

As the Lake Buntzen Power Plant nears the date of its’ centenary in December 2003, the plant, the company and the people who built and operated the facility for nearly 50 years can look back at a job well done, of supplying dependable power inexpensively.  Though the Plant has been overshadowed by the giant new plants like Shrum in the Peace River area and Mica in the Columbia River area, it still has the distinction of being the first to serve this area and for over a century has done a good job.

52 thoughts on “History

  1. I like what you guys are up also. Such intelligent work and reporting! Carry on the superb works guys I have incorporated you guys to my blogroll. I think it will improve the value of my website 🙂

  2. Hi to all, how is the whole thing, I think every one is getting more
    from this website, and your views are fastidious in support of new users.

  3. Good day very nice site!! Guy .. Beautiful .. Amazing .. I will bookmark your site and take the feeds additionally…I’m glad to find a lot of helpful information here in the put up, we need work out more strategies in this regard, thank you for sharing.

  4. I just want to tell you that I am newbie to blogging and site-building and seriously loved this website. Probably I’m want to bookmark your blog post . You certainly have exceptional articles and reviews. Cheers for sharing with us your web site.

  5. I’m not that much of a internet reader to be honest
    but your blogs really nice, keep it up! I’ll go ahead and bookmark your website to come back later.
    Many thanks

  6. Aw, this was a really good post. Spending some
    time and actual effort to produce a superb article… but what can I say…
    I procrastinate a whole lot and never seem to get
    anything done.

  7. Its like you read my mind! You seem to know
    so much about this, like you wrote the book in it or something.
    I think that you could do with some pics to drive the message
    home a little bit, but other than that, this is fantastic blog.
    An excellent read. I’ll definitely be back.

  8. It’s awesome to visit this site and reading the views of all
    colleagues about this article, while I am also eager of getting knowledge.

  9. Hey there this is somewhat of off topic but I was wondering if blogs use WYSIWYG
    editors or if you have to manually code with HTML. I’m starting
    a blog soon but have no coding experience so I wanted to get guidance
    from someone with experience. Any help would be enormously appreciated!

  10. I’m not that much of a internet reader to be honest but your blogs really nice, keep it up!
    I’ll go ahead and bookmark your website to come back in the
    future. Cheers

  11. Hi! I could have sworn I’ve been to this blog before but after browsing through some of the post I realized it’s new to me.
    Anyhow, I’m definitely delighted I found it and I’ll be bookmarking and
    checking back often!

  12. Very great post. I simply stumbled upon your blog and wanted
    to say that I have truly enjoyed browsing your blog
    posts. In any case I’ll be subscribing to your rss feed and I am hoping you write once more soon!

  13. I loved as much as you will receive carried out right here.
    The sketch is tasteful, your authored subject matter
    stylish. nonetheless, you command get got an nervousness over that you wish be delivering the following.
    unwell unquestionably come further formerly again as exactly the same nearly a
    lot often inside case you shield this increase.

  14. Please let me know if you’re looking for a author for your blog.
    You have some really great articles and I feel
    I would be a good asset. If you ever want to take some of the
    load off, I’d really like to write some material for your blog in exchange for
    a link back to mine. Please blast me an e-mail if interested.

    Thank you!

  15. Hello there! Would you mind if I share your blog with my twitter group?
    There’s a lot of folks that I think would really appreciate your content.
    Please let me know. Thanks

  16. What’s up everybody, here every one is sharing these familiarity, thus it’s pleasant to read this blog, and I used
    to pay a quick visit this webpage every day.

  17. Hi everyone, it’s my first pay a quick visit at this website, and
    post is truly fruitful in support of me, keep up posting such content.

  18. An outstanding share! I have just forwarded this onto a friend who has been conducting a little homework on this.
    And he in fact ordered me breakfast due to the fact that I
    stumbled upon it for him… lol. So allow me to reword this….
    Thanks for the meal!! But yeah, thanks for spending some time to talk about this issue
    here on your web site.

  19. Greetings from Idaho! I’m bored to death at work so I decided to check out your site on my
    iphone during lunch break. I enjoy the knowledge you present here and
    can’t wait to take a look when I get home.
    I’m amazed at how fast your blog loaded on my phone .. I’m not even using WIFI, just 3G ..

    Anyhow, good site!

  20. I don’t even know how I ended up here, but I thought this post was great. I do not know who you are but definitely you are going to a famous blogger if you are not already 😉 Cheers!

  21. I do not even understand how I stopped up here, but I thought this put up was great. I do not recognise who you are however definitely you’re going to a well-known blogger in the event you are not already 😉 Cheers!

  22. I’m extremely inspired together with your writing talents and also with the format for your weblog. Is this a paid subject matter or did you modify it your self? Either way keep up the nice quality writing, it’s rare to peer a nice weblog like this one today..

  23. It’s not my first time to pay a quick visit this web site, i am browsing
    this web page dailly and get good facts from here everyday.

  24. hello there and thank you for your info – I have certainly
    picked up something new from right here. I did however expertise a
    few technical points using this website, since I experienced to reload the web site many times previous to I could get it to load properly.
    I had been wondering if your web hosting is OK?
    Not that I’m complaining, but slow loading instances times will often affect your
    placement in google and can damage your quality score if advertising and marketing with Adwords.
    Anyway I am adding this RSS to my e-mail and can look out for a lot more of your respective exciting content.

    Ensure that you update this again soon.

  25. Hi, I do believe this is an excellent site.
    I stumbledupon it 😉 I will revisit once again since i have book marked it.
    Money and freedom is the greatest way to change, may you be rich and continue to help
    other people.

  26. Greetings from Carolina! I’m bored to death at work so I decided to
    check out your site on my iphone during lunch break.
    I enjoy the information you present here and can’t wait to take
    a look when I get home. I’m shocked at how fast your
    blog loaded on my cell phone .. I’m not even using WIFI, just 3G ..
    Anyways, superb site!

  27. It’s in reality a nice and useful piece of information. I am
    happy that you simply shared this helpful information with us.
    Please keep us informed like this. Thanks for sharing.

  28. I have read so many posts concerning the blogger lovers but this piece of writing is actually a nice article,
    keep it up.

  29. I don’t even know how I ended up here, but I thought this post
    was good. I do not know who you are but certainly you’re going to
    a famous blogger if you aren’t already 😉 Cheers!

  30. I’ve been exploring for a bit for any high quality articles or blog posts on this sort of house .
    Exploring in Yahoo I eventually stumbled upon this website.
    Studying this information So i’m satisfied to convey
    that I’ve an incredibly just right uncanny feeling I
    came upon exactly what I needed. I such a lot indubitably will make certain to don?t overlook this website and give it a glance
    on a constant basis.

  31. Spot on with this write-up, I honestly think this web site needs
    far more attention. I’ll probably be returning to read through more, thanks for the advice!

  32. I just want to mention I’m newbie to blogs and really savored this blog. Almost certainly I’m want to bookmark your site . You surely have outstanding well written articles. Cheers for revealing your web-site.

  33. I absolutely love your site.. Pleasant colors & theme.
    Did you create this web site yourself? Please reply back
    as I’m attempting to create my very own blog and would love to know where you got this
    from or just what the theme is named. Appreciate it!

  34. I am extremely impressed with your writing skills as well as with the layout on your blog.
    Is this a paid theme or did you customize it yourself?
    Either way keep up the nice quality writing, it’s rare to see a great blog
    like this one nowadays.

  35. I like the valuable information you supply in your articles.

    I’ll bookmark your weblog and check once more here frequently.
    I am relatively certain I will be informed many new stuff proper here!
    Good luck for the following!

  36. Wow that was odd. I just wrote an very long comment but after I clicked submit my comment didn’t show up.
    Grrrr… well I’m not writing all that over again.
    Anyways, just wanted to say great blog!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *