An independent group is sounding the alarm that B.C.’s electrical system is not ready to handle the ever-increasing demand for power.
Energy Futures Initiative, an advocacy group, said B.C. could be labelled an “at-risk” area for power generation as early as 2026.
Following 18 months of drought, the B.C. government was forced to import a record amount of power in 2023, roughly the equivalent of two Site C Dams worth of power.
A report from the North American Electric Reliability Corporation stated that B.C. is a risk to generating enough power consistently in the future. The report said by 2026 that increasing demand and generation constraints could become an issue.
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“One-fifth of our power last year came from outside of British Columbia,” Barry Penner, chair for the Energy Futures Initiative told Global News. “We’re not self-sufficient, and there is a risk to not being self-sufficient.”
The organization is calling on the B.C. government to seriously look at alternatives to hydro to meet the province’s generation needs.
Meanwhile, the government has put out a call for independent power producers to help alleviate some of the future demand.
“When you add it up, the minister says we have a surplus, and I am going blue in the face — it doesn’t make sense,” BC United Energy Critic Tom Shypitka said in December.
BC Hydro is scheduled to bring the new Site C Dam online this year, which will produce another 5,100 gigawatt hours of electricity per year.
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