While energy conservation in the home is an important part of reducing our ecological footprint most people do not understand or even realize how their energy consumption works and how they can manage it. In-home displays offer the opportunity to help become more aware, but often do not fit into a home’s aesthetics, typically relegated […]

The objective is to create new weather-forecast products to enable BC Hydro meteorologists to better support electric-power generation, power transmission, dispatch of emergency repair crews, anticipation of electric loads, and energy trading. The method is to use powerful computers to solve atmospheric equations for future weather (a method called Numerical Weather Prediction, NWP), and to […]

Rain-on-snow events, where rain falls on pre-existing snow, cause some of the highest peak flows in mountainous coastal regions, such as Southwestern British Columbia. Operational hydrologists have a difficult time predicting runoff during these events because of an incomplete knowledge of the energy fluxes into and within the snowpack over large areas, and because of […]

In this project, a methodology for controlling the distributed generation resources connected to the distribution system level will be developed. This control strategy will improve the efficiency and reliability of the operation by decreasing the losses, managing the assets, and increasing the system reliability. There are currently several feeders in the BC Hydro distribution system […]

The candidate will utilize his knowledge and experience in transmission line modelling to implement test cases required by BC Hydro to validate the results of measured induced voltages between the transmission lines and gas pipelines. The simulations will be performed using well-known computer packages available at power laboratories of the University of British Columbia as […]

The current project aims to examine how tunable LED lighting influences productivity and well-being in students at the Port Coquitlam’s Riverside secondary school. The project aims to identify the optimal lighting conditions in order to maximize productivity and well-being in healthy students as well as students with special needs. We hypothesize that the tunable LED […]

The Energy Planning department at BC Hydro looks at how the company can meet B.C.’s future electricity demand through conservation, generation and transmission, and through upgrades to existing infrastructure. As new resources require lead times to develop, BC Hydro must plan ahead so that the new resources are ready when we need them. The Energy […]

Insufficient and mistimed artificial lighting within the hospital environment can disrupt circadian rhythms, adversely affecting patients’ sleep, mood, and recovery. In collaboration with BC Hydro, we will run a study at the Burnaby Center for Mental Health and Addictions to test whether controlled 24-hour lighting with enhanced daytime brightness and restricted nocturnal light exposure can […]

Large northward-flowing boreal rivers are an important hydroelectric resource, but effects of river regulation on downstream geomorphology and aquatic ecosystems are difficult to predict. Peace River, BC presents an ideal case study of river response to regulation, with continuous monitoring since dam construction in 1967. However, current understanding of system changes is based mainly on […]

The mountains of British Columbia store vast, but varying, amounts of water in winter snowpacks. Accurate estimates of snow water equivalent (SWE) in these mountains are critical for hydroelectric power generation and flood forecasting, but the current observation network is often insufficient. Working with both industry and academic partners, Mitacs interns will use airborne laser […]

When a transmission cable joint in an underground vault undergoes an electrical failure this event can result in a high energy event and trigger a shock wave. Rapid and extreme pressure build up inside a manhole can cause a 200kg vault cover launching out as a dangerous projectile, which is referred as manhole incidents. The […]

The research will comprise effects of penetration of photovoltaic on existing distribution network. This will include power quality, voltage stability and customer load when there is a penetration. The graphs would display and let the utility organization know till what level the penetration should be done on a distribution network. The advantages and the need […]