B.C. Hydro extends gas plant operations to meet power gap

B.C. Hydro is extending operations of two natural-gas power plants beyond previously planned closure dates, pushing back provincial goals to phase out fossil-fuel generation by decade's end.

The utility told the B.C. Utilities Commission it needs the Island Generation plant in Campbell River (275 megawatts) and the McMahon plant near Fort St. John (120 megawatts) to fill a looming 500-megawatt electricity shortfall anticipated by 2030. Together, these plants would supply roughly 400 megawatts of the gap.

Hydro chief regulatory officer Chris Sandve wrote that the utility is in confidential negotiations to continue buying electricity from both plants to meet peak demand and support economic growth, particularly new mining activity worth an estimated $4 billion and 1.1 per cent of provincial GDP by 2030.

Growth in North American electricity demand has surged in recent years due to power-hungry data centres for artificial intelligence, outpacing a decade of stagnant consumption. Hydro is pushing 1,158 megawatts of new renewable capacity by 2034, but climate advocates worry extending gas generation locks in fossil-fuel reliance. "We need to avoid a slippery slope towards natural gas before we've properly examined options," said Evan Pivnick, a program manager with Clean Energy Canada.