This article was published by The Globe and Mail on May 6, 2025, written by Justine Hunter in Victoria
British Columbia is turning to the private sector and First Nations to expand its electricity supply, inviting billions of dollars worth of investments in wind and other renewable energy projects.
BC Hydro’s call for bids on Monday is the second in recent months and points to a major policy shift as the New Democratic Party government fully embraces private investment in its publicly owned power grid.
Premier David Eby said U.S. threats to Canada’s economy and its sovereignty make the expansion of clean energy a national imperative, particularly at a time when the province has been relying on electricity supplies from south of the border.
“Now, more than ever, we have to ensure that we are using our economic advantages that we have here in British Columbia to support a Canadian-wide project to ensure that our country can stand on our own two feet [and] reduce our reliance on the United States,” he told reporters, standing in an oceanside park in Victoria with the Olympic mountains of Washington state visible behind him.
Late last year, the British Columbia government approved the province’s first major expansion of private power generation in more than 15 years. BC Hydro, the Crown corporation, has now signed purchase agreements that will increase the province’s current supply of electricity by 8 per cent – the equivalent of the recently completed, $16-billion Site C hydroelectric dam.
This week’s call for more renewable power projects aims to expand the power grid by another 8 per cent. In addition, BC Hydro is looking for new supplies of “firm” electricity - such as geothermal or battery storage systems - to supplement all the new energy that is produced only intermittently - when the sun is shining or the wind is blowing.
All together, the province aims to increase its electricity supply by 25 per cent or more in the next seven years through private power deals. That’s enough power to supply 1.5 million new homes.
Mr. Eby said the rapid expansion is key to a “generational opportunity” to attract economic development based on clean power. But the province is also facing increased demand from residential and industrial customers at a time when a years-long drought has forced it to rely on imported power from the United States to meet existing electricity demand.
The NDP government was highly critical of the previous Liberal government’s contracts with independent power producers.
Energy Minister Adrian Dix said Monday that purchasing renewable power from the private sector now makes financial sense because the cost of building wind and solar power has come down.
But he also said the B.C. needs more power quickly. The province introduced legislation last week that aims to fast-track approvals for major projects that are deemed to be in the province’s interest. B.C. hopes to secure investments in a string of critical mineral mines in the northwest, but will need more electricity than it has on tap.
BC Hydro, which has been responsible for building most of the province’s network of large, hydroelectric dams, is now focusing its capital plan on infrastructure such as transmission lines.
One of the biggest new hydro projects Mr. Dix has promised to push forward is the construction of a 450-kilmetre North West transmission line from Prince George to Terrace, which will open up port capacity in B.C.’s north, allowing Canadian goods to reach new markets overseas.
Chris O’Riley, president and CEO of BC Hydro, said there is no budget yet for the project, but the Crown corporation is working with First Nations along the proposed route to secure consent.
Robert Phillips, a member of the First Nations Summit political executive, welcomed the announcement of new private power opportunities.
The private power projects approved last year include nine wind farms and one solar project, worth $6-billion in private capital. Nine of them have First Nations majority ownership - another shift that Mr. Phillips says is encouraging.
“First Nations do have a big hesitation when we hear, ‘fast track’,” he said. “Although there are some concerns and issues along the way, we’re in support, and we’re here to work with the government of British Columbia in this area.”
BC government news release May 5, 2025: Province takes energy action to electrify economy, increase resilience