Energy & The Environment

In December the BC Utilities Commission (BCUC) quashed FortisBC’s plans to build a natural gas pipeline in the Okanagan – a $327 million project that would have seen a 30-kilometer line and two related power stations built to meet growing demand for gas in BC’s southern interior.

FortisBC is warning that without additional natural gas transport capacity the region could start experience natural gas shortages in the winter of 2026/27, less than three years from now.

The reason? The BCUC found the plan did not account for a downturn in demand for natural gas as the province moves away from generating energy from fossil fuels and adopting more clean energy. The regulator found the forecast demand “is highly unlikely to occur.”

BCUC’s chair & CEO and the President & CEO of Fortis BC are part of our panel for a conversation about Energy & The Environment April 2. The panel:

• Mark Jaccard, Chair and CEO of the BC Utilities Commission
• Roger Dall’Antonia, President & CEO, FortisBC
• Karen Tam Wu, Climate action advocate & policy advisor
• Barry Penner, Chair of the Energy Futures Initiative
• Andras Vlaszak, Director, Energy Transition Project Development & Finance, Global Infrastructure Advisory, KPMG

There’s no question the climate is changing and urgent action is needed. But is increasing electricity use the answer for BC?

Shortly after the BCUC decision BC Hydro revealed it imported about 20 per cent of the electricity British Columbians consumed last year – due both to constrained generation as drought reduced the water available at hydro dams and increasing demand as our population grows and we drive more electric vehicles and install more heat pumps in our homes.

Most of that imported power came from Washington State, California, and Alberta. According to the California Energy Commission and the US Energy Information Administration California and Washington State produce environmentally sound power from sources including hydro, solar, nuclear, and geothermal – but also from burning natural gas, biomass, and even coal. As for Alberta, according to the Canada Energy Regulator that province generates 89 per cent of its power from burning coal and natural gas.

The Site C Dam is set to come online this year and will help increase our available supply of hydro power, but the amount BC Hydro imported in 2023 is twice that facility’s predicted annual production.

Water levels are low due to drought again this year, and a recent report is warning the combination of increasing demand and generation constraints will only get worse in coming years, even with Site C.

What’s the answer to this very complex challenge?

We hope you can join us for the conversation – on webcast 7 p.m. April 2.

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