Could B.C. be stuck importing power for a 3rd year? Drought and snowmelt prompt concerns
British Columbia could be left importing electricity for a third consecutive year, according to one industry expert.
Ongoing drought conditions in the province are again cutting into B.C.'s ability to generate hydroelectric power, according to Energy Futures Institute chair and former environment minister Barry Penner.
That will leave the province importing power from the U.S. once again, he said.
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B.C. makes plea for more power
'What we've seen over the last couple of years is very disappointing snowpack, so that means we are behind the 8-ball for water to go into our reservoirs, and with BC Hydro being dependent on about 90 per cent hydroelectricity, if we don't have enough water, then we are not generating as much electricity as we normally would,' Penner said.
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'We're now entering into our third year of being a large net importer of electricity.'
In fiscal year 2024, BC Hydro imported 13,600 gigawatt hours of electricity, about 25 per cent of its total power, at a cost of nearly $1.4 billion.
The previous year, it imported about 10,000 gigawatt hours of electricity this year, about a fifth of its total load, at a cost of more than $450 million.
'We just began our fiscal year on April 1, so it really is way too soon to say if we will be a net importer or a net exporter this year; it really does depend on precipitation,' BC Hydro spokesperson Mora Scott told Global News.
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'While we have seen drought conditions ease, the province did remove drought classifications on nearly all watersheds across the province last fall, we do know that snowpack this year is below average. It is something we are obviously keeping a close eye on.'
Much of the power came from the U.S. and Alberta, where it was generated by burning fossil fuels.
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BC Hydro imports record amount of electricity
Opposition Leader John Rustad pinned the blame on the NDP government, who he said scrapped legislation that required B.C. to be energy self-sufficient under former premier John Horgan.
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'Now, unfortunately, we are going to be paying the piper,' he said.
Rustad said the U.S. Pacific Northwest is expected to be a net importer of power itself starting in 2027, meaning B.C. won't be able to buy electricity from the south.
'So when you look at the fact that we are now continually being reliant on buying power from the United States, especially the fact that Site C is coming on stream right now, that puts us in an incredibly vulnerable situation,' he said.
'Wind and solar is great to add the mix, but we need to get serious about power generation in British Columbia.'
But B.C. Energy Minister Adrian Dix said the figures don't paint a full picture of the situation, adding that in eight of the last 16 years the province has been a net exporter.
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BC Hydro importing power as drought drags on in province's northeast
Dix said that while drought is currently having an effect, B.C. has still turned a net profit on electricity in the last half-decade.
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'The power we export is worth way more than the power we import, such that the last five years, even though we've been importing more, we make $550 million for the ratepayers on the exchange,' he said.
That's because B.C.'s power is stored as water in hydroelectric dams, meaning the province can import power when it is cheap and export it when it is expensive.
'That is why we have had electricity rates 12 per cent lower than inflation since this government came to office,' he said.
The province is, however, focused on increasing electrical generating capacity, Dix said, pointing to its recent calls for private investment in new power projects.
The province has approved nine new Indigenous-led wind power projects that will be eligible for fast-tracked permitting, and which it says will produce the equivalent amount of electricity as the Site-C dam.
Site C will come fully online by the end of this year, while the wind projects are projected to be completed towards the end of the decade.
The province launched a second call for power this year and aims to award those electricity purchase agreements early next year.
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