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BCUC accepts updated BC Hydro IRP, which calls for 3,700 GWh of new generation

BCUC accepts updated BC Hydro IRP, which calls for 3,700 GWh of new generation

The British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) has accepted BC Hydro’s Updated 2021 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), which anticipates the need to acquire about 3,700 GWh of clean or renewable electricity.

The key priorities of BC Hydro’s IRP are to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by focusing on non-polluting electricity sources, sustaining BC’s low electricity rates, limiting land and water impacts, contributing to BC’s reconciliation efforts with Indigenous peoples and supporting the growth of BC’s economy.

In this plan, BC Hydro expects electricity demand to increase and proposes a combination of energy efficiency programs (called demand-side management) and energy purchases from independent power producers, including new contracts and renewal of existing contracts.

BC Hydro first filed its IRP with the BCUC in December 2021. However, given the rapidly changing energy environment, BC Hydro later determined that the short-term actions in its original application would not be enough to meet its customers’ future electricity needs. As a result, BC Hydro submitted an updated IRP in June 2023 that included changes to its load forecast, load scenarios, resource balances and short-term actions.

After a public review process, the BCUC determined that:

  • BC Hydro’s IRP is in the public interest and aligns with the BC government’s energy objectives;
  • BC Hydro provided sufficient information to meet the filing requirements of a long-term resource plan; and
  • Its supporting analysis for its near-term actions and range of long-term scenarios was reasonable.

In accepting BC Hydro’s Updated 2021 IRP, the BCUC agreed there is a need for BC Hydro to acquire about 3,000 GWh of clean or renewable electricity from new facilities starting as early as 2029 and about 700 GWh of additional electricity from existing generation facilities before 2029. This represents an addition of more than 5% to BC Hydro’s existing energy generation resources. BC Hydro has been directed to file its next IRP with the BCUC by Oct. 31, 2025.

More than 90% of BC Hydro’s generation is produced by hydroelectric power. The company generates more than 43,000 GWh of electricity annually to supply roughly 1.9 million residential, commercial and industrial customers.

The BCUC is an independent regulatory body, responsible for regulating BC’s energy utilities, basic automobile insurance rates, and intra-provincial pipeline rates. It is the BCUC’s role to balance the interests of ratepayers and other stakeholders with the interests of the businesses it regulates.