To satisfy the expected energy needs of industrial operations in the province, B.C. needs to add new power sources roughly equal to the electricity produced by six Site C dams.
B.C. Premier David Eby said on Wednesday (Oct. 29) that he would “stake his government” on the passage of the recently introduced energy bill that tries to deal with this by enabling restrictions on new connections and advancing power line construction.
“The last thing I want is an election, but we’ll be prepared if it’s necessary,” Eby said.
A document obtained by Black Press Media from the Energy Futures Institute — a group that advocates for natural gas interests — shows that in July, BC Hydro had 6,962 megawatts worth of industrial load requests in its connection queue.
Connection requests in the queue for non-industrial uses total just 334 megawatts.
To put that in perspective, the Site C dam produces just over 1,200 megawatts at peak output, and the entire BC Hydro system produces roughly 12,000.
Barry Penner, a former B.C. Liberal cabinet minister and chair of the Energy Futures Institute, says the new energy bill is a way to give the cabinet “unfettered discretion” to allocate electricity.
The bill would allow First Nations to hold an ownership stake in the North Coast transmission line — a proposed electrical line across northern B.C. — and would enable BC Hydro to restrict new connections for artificial intelligence (AI), data centres, hydrogen production for international export, and cryptocurrency mining.
Eby argues that passing the bill will eventually lead to 10,000 new jobs.
And Energy and Climate Solutions Minister Adrian Dix said it is “good news for B.C.” that electricity demand is up.
“All these mining projects we’re talking about in the north — good news for B.C.,” he said.
Along with this new bill, the NDP government has also used legislation to expedite wind and solar projects to increase capacity.
Dix reckons the B.C. government will be able to meet the actual, eventual power demands “if we act.” He also points out that some of these connection requests are for projects that may not necessarily come to fruition.
Penner argues B.C. could help ease demand by reversing a planned ban on the use of natural gas in heating, and by doing away with, or at least revising, electric vehicle mandates.
“It’s one thing to build new power lines; it’s another thing to find electrons to put in them,” he said.
Not enough power
Along with several pieces of legislation to expedite projects, BC Hydro has recently issued two calls for power, each seeking to provide roughly as much added energy to the grid as the Site C dam did.
“But those projects are not due to come online till the early 2030s,” Penner said.
B.C. could import power, but Penner says this will increase reliance on the United States, and he points out that in some years, B.C. is already a net importer of electricity. Dix counters that over the past fifteen years, B.C. ended up a net exporter eight times.
Even with imports, B.C. is falling far short of meeting connection needs.
Larry Neufeld, B.C. Conservative critic for Oil, Natural Gas and Energy, said he doubts the province can overcome this deficit with current policy.
“I’m concerned if we’re going to be able to do it in any reasonable timeline,” he said. “Given the current government approach.”
He wants to utilize the “world’s cleanest natural gas” to provide this power through local gas-powered plants in resource-rich regions.
A major portion of these connection requests is coming from natural gas production and export facilities themselves.
Because of this, B.C. Green Party MLA Jeremy Valeriote — whose party wants to decrease reliance on fossil fuels — has different concerns.
He says the government shouldn’t be using tax dollars to subsidize these industries.
“Most of that is to liquefy gas for export,” Valeriote said. “We really need to think about what we’re going to use this [for].”
He wants a “robust” process for how to allocate this energy.
“There’s a whole bunch of other clean industries that could take advantage of that,” he said.
The current energy bill allows the government, through BC Hydro, to prioritize one type of project over another, with loose criteria that it must create jobs.
Mining and natural gas would be in, AI and data centres limited, and cryptocurrency out.
But Valeriote worries that this new bill gives cabinet too much authority to make these calls, and removes the oversight authority of the utility commission.
“This is a public utility, so how we decide to allocate electricity should be a public conversation,” he said. “Shouldn’t be done behind closed doors.”
Premier threatens election after Conservative move to obstruct bill
Eby made his defiant stance on the passage of the new energy bill known a day after it was nearly torpedoed by the Official Opposition.
The B.C. Conservatives had suddenly introduced an amendment to the bill that would have delayed it for six months. This caught many NDP MLAs off guard and sent them scurrying into the house to ensure the motion failed, which it did by a vote of 48 to 40.
The bill passed second reading after Eby’s election threat, with the support of B.C. Green Party MLAs, who had also voted against the Conservative motion the day before.
Valeriote said his party thought the bill ought to be debated at the committee stage, but would not commit to supporting it at the final stages without changes.
He says that while its Eby’s prerogative to call an election, he doesn’t think the public has an appetite for another election just one year after the last.
“I really don’t think anybody wants an election,” he said. “We have a bare majority parliament. We’re able to get some work done…Election calls are opportunistic.”
Like Penner, B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad expressed doubts about whether enough power will be available for the new transmission line to make the bill worthwhile.
“The Northwest transmission line is something that does not need to be built,” Rustad said. “We do not actually have the electricity to even put in the line.”
And if Eby wants to call an election over the new energy bill, Rustad says, “drop the writ, let’s dance.”