The mayor of Kamloops says a new BC Hydro substation in the city will help provide “economic security.”

Ken Christian says a number of power-intensive businesses have chosen to locate somewhere else because of limitations in Kamloops.

Christian says now the city has enough power supply to compete with the rest of B.C. and attract those businesses.

“It really helps us electrify not only the city but areas around Kamloops in the Thompson-Nicola region,” he said. “We’ll be able to provide power that’s necessary for us to attract both commercial and industrial businesses and clients to our region.”

“As you look at places that are involving a lot of technology, there’s a lot of power that goes along with that. So this will help us in terms of that sector immensely.”

The new $56-million-dollar substation on Bunker Road began operating in November and has the capacity of 100,000 megawatts, which BC Hydro says is enough power for about 10,000 customers.