Fortis B.C.’s average residential customer might be paying an extra $9 per year for a natural gas pipeline project from Penticton to Chute Lake.

The estimated cost of the Okanagan Capacity Upgrade is $271 million. Customers will notice the $9 increase starting in 2024 if the project is approved by the B.C. Utilities Commission.

The plan is to run 30 kilometres of pipeline between Fortis’ existing network at Ellis Creek Penticton to Chute Lake, where the project’s pressure reduction station is proposed to go.

Fortis says as the population of the Okanagan continues to increase, the upgrade is needed to strengthen the system for the 105,000 homes and business in the region that rely on the service.

“If the Okanagan region continues to grow at its current pace, and the Okanagan Capacity Upgrade project is not built, Fortis B.C. could run into a capacity shortfall,” corporate communications advisor Jessica Williams said in an email.

“This could result in our existing customers experiencing interruptions to reliable gas service for their heat, hot water, and cooking, in a worst-case scenario.”

A map of the proposed Okanagan Capacity Upgrade, which will run for 30 kilometers between Penticton and Chute Lake if approved.

Some environmentalists are opposed to the project.

“Climate change is real as evidenced by last year's heat dome and horrific wildfires,” Joanna Finn from Naramata wrote in a letter to the utilities commission. “Adding a pipeline between Penticton and Chute Lake is nonsensical.”

"New fossil fuel infrastructure is not needed when heat pumps offer high-efficiency home heating and cooling," reads a letter by Gunilla Axwik from Peachland.

Climate activists from First Things First Okanagan presented at last week’s Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen meeting to advocate against the project.

“FTFO has serious concerns that the construction of new natural gas infrastructure to service growth will encourage and sustain the expansion of gas use well into the future, and will significantly increase the challenge … to lower emissions,” said Jim Beattie, a director with the organization.

READ MORE: Price of Fortis B.C. electricity going up in 2022

While many people are opposed to the project for mostly environmental reasons, Williams believes it will be an important part of a low-carbon future.

“In the future, the Okanagan Capacity Upgrade project – along with Fortis’s existing gas infrastructure – will provide Okanagan residents with the option to transition to renewable and low-carbon gas,” she said.

“This work is already underway, and we are on track to reduce our customers’ emissions by 30 per cent by 2030 and expect about 75 per cent of the gas delivered through our lines to be renewable by 2050.”

To minimize environmental damage during construction, she said Fortis will build the new gas line alongside its existing rights of way wherever possible.

And Williams pointed out how Fortis applied to have every newly constructed home be connected to 100 per cent renewable gas.

Fortis is expecting the utilities commission to issue its final decision late in 2022, she said.

If approved, construction is expected to happen between 2022 and 2023, according to the website.

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