Two Rivers, One Company

The 1960's was a time of larger-than-life leaders and huge projects for BC Hydro. Created to fulfill what could be described as Premier W. A. C. Bennett's ambitious geopolitical vision of British Columbia as a modern, industrialized society, the new company was overseen by the irrepressible Gordon Shrum and the more understated Hugh Keenleyside. These two powerful characters had a unique co-chairmanship arrangement thrust upon them by Bennett, and in some ways their trials and tribulations personified the company and its employees as they struggled to develop a new personality and mission.

Building staff install the corporate logo atop Hydro headquarters on Burrard Street in 1967.  From left:  George Williams, Mike Makarenko, Dave Zeron, Joe Gould, Les Baldwin and Nils Baekgaard.

The dams and powerhouses that were started were so big that the new Crown corporation spent the decade scrambling to keep up-with construction schedules, with labour needs, and with the new technology that made such projects possible.

Hydro's primary goal during the 1960's was to build electric load and help fulfill Premier W. A. C. Bennett's desire for more industry.  It also aimed to even out the daily and seasonal peaks of power consumption that had bedevilled BC utilities for over a century. Of course, as Hydro generated new hydroelectricity, it also had to respond directly to a rising demand for power.

The company worked to meet customers' needs by emphasizing higher standards for installations, insulation, equipment performance, and electrical safety. Residential, commercial, and industrial power needs grew during the decade, with demand increasing as high as 17 percent in 1967 from the previous year. Hydro's marketing strategies were aggressive and highly successful.
This was also the era when environmental concerns came to the forefront of the public agenda. Hydro would now have to respond more fully and publicly to issues of energy conservation and environmental degradation caused by its activities starting in the 1970's. But, nevertheless, growth was far and away the driving factor during the 1960's.

Of course the "little things" still had to be attended to: keeping the lights on, the buses running, the freight rolling, and the gas flowing-all of which BC Hydro did admirably. As it turned out, the 1960's was the last decade during which these traditional businesses, which had been established over the previous hundred years, would function as part of a huge, integrated whole.

		An orignal BC Hydro meter reader's hat from 1962.