Environmentalists are concerned about a B.C. Hydro proposal that could see its Burrard thermal generating plant in Port Moody being permitted to spew more pollutants into the atmosphere around Metro Vancouver.

Concerns are being raised after B.C. Hydro filed an application with regulators last week, asking for permission to increase the aging gas-fired power plant's annual output of electricity.

The Port Moody facility is what the corporation calls a swing plant, meaning it is only used for emergency backup power. But if the application is accepted, the plant could be re-classified.

This means it could become a base supplier of electricity, generating up to an annual limit of 3,000 gigawatts, up from only 100 gigawatts last year.

Company officials have downplayed the application, stating the corporation hardly ever uses the Burrard plant, except when there are peaks in energy consumption.

"We don't plan on changing the way we operate the plant, so as a result we don't see a change in air pollution," said B.C. Hydro spokesperson Simi Heer.

However, environmentalists worry that re-classifying the plant could mean the Burrard generating station could once again become a major source of greenhouse-gas emmissions, effecting the local air quality.

"It's a good peak facility," said Joe Foy of the Western Canada Wildnerness Committee adding that,

"It kicks on when you need it and I think it is excellent for that. But there's no way it should be spewing its pollutants for any longer periods than peak."

The plan to produce more electrical power at the Port Moody facility is just a proposal at this point.

The B.C. Utilities Commission will have the final say on the subject.

With a report from CTV British Columbia's Peter Grainger