The Province of British Columbia this month published a report on the current state, and planned future, of the region’s power grid.
The May 2025 report, titled “Energizing our economy: B.C.’s Clean Power Action Plan,” highlights the fact that 98% of the province’s electricity is generated from clean sources.
The report introduces the “Clean Power Action Plan,” which is designed to ensure that our electricity system is equipped to enable economic growth and remain stable despite increases in demand.
Specifically, the Action Plan includes “five new transformative initiatives.”
Building on BC Hydro’s 2024 Call for Power, which generated 10 new solar and wind projects, the entity is launching a 2025 edition.
Another initiative is issuing a Request for Expressions of Interest to explore the development of certain projects. BC Hydro will invite responses for the development of projects, which could include geothermal energy, pumped storage, or hydroelectric resources.
BC Hydro is also issuing a separate Request for Expressions of Interest to identify “innovative clean-tech partners who can deliver cutting-edge, market-ready technologies to help people and businesses conserve energy.”
On that front, the Province has set aside more than $12M through the Innovative Clean Energy Fund in a targeted, three-year call to support the development of B.C.-based cleantech solutions.
Currently, BC Hydro offers the third-lowest electricity rates in North America, according to the report.
Moving forward, the Province has launched an electricity rate stability directive to the B.C. Utilities Commission to set BC Hydro’s rate increases for the next two years to “provide certainty and reaffirm the government’s commitment to keeping electricity rates below the cumulative rate of inflation.”
Despite Ontario giving the green light to four nuclear reactors, however, British Columbia says it intends to continue delivering energy to residents of the province without the use of nuclear.
“In keeping with the Clean Energy Act, BC Hydro will continue to meet its energy objectives without the use of nuclear power,” the report states.
Leave a Reply