Tag Archives: North Coast Transmission Line

Energy

Who really pays for BC’s power?

By Matt Simmons, The Narwhal, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

The average home in British Columbia uses around 10,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per year.

There are approximately 2.2 million homes in B.C. This means the province needs to make sure the grid has enough energy to supply about 22 billion kilowatt hours every year to keep those homes warm and the lights on.

And that’s just for homes. It doesn’t include all the electricity needed for industry, businesses and a rapidly expanding electric-vehicle market.

In B.C., the average resident pays around $100 a month for electricity, roughly $1,200 per year for those 10,000 kilowatt hours.

Residential rates just went up on April 1, when BC Hydro increased its rates by 3.75 per cent. That’s partly to start paying off some of the sunk costs the government has already invested in building new power infrastructure.

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Energy, Politics

BC transmission line risks repeating Site C failures: critics

 Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter 

The rush to develop BC’s $6-billion North Coast Transmission Line risks charging down the same troubled path of poor oversight and cost over-runs faced by the Site C dam, critics warn, pointing to a new report.

At the end of October, BC Hydro provided the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) with its Site C “lessons learned” report, which outlined why the Peace River project costs nearly doubled to $16 billion from the original $8.8 billion figure in 2014. 

The North Coast Transmission Line (NCTL), which will power natural gas operations, LNG export facilities, mining and the Prince Rupert port expansion, is the next big-ticket item tackled by BC Hydro. 

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Energy, Politics

Carney supercharges BC’s northern grid with nation-building label

 Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter 

Prime Minister Mark Carney announced the addition of the North Coast Transmission Line to his list of projects of national importance on Thursday.

The $6-billion transmission line in northern BC will now be fast-tracked by the Major Projects Office, developed by the federal government to speed proposals expected to boost Canada’s economy and lessen trade dependence with the United States and the impact of US President Donald Trump’s tariff regime.

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Energy, Politics

Feds, BC are shifting LNG risks to public purse, report claims

Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Ottawa and the British Columbia government are shifting financial risks of LNG companies onto the public purse while weakening commitment to the “polluter pays” principle, a new report suggests.

The federal and provincial governments are on track to provide almost $4 billion in support for fuel expansion of LNG exports on the West Coast, despite forecasts that global demand for the fossil fuel will peak well before most projects come online. 

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