Province updates Clean Energy Act

PRINCE GEORGE — It was just under two months when the Premier announced that BC Hydro’s updated capital plan would include a $36 billion dollar investment into new community and regional infrastructure, and with a new legislative session in place, the government has updated the existing legislation to reflect the need for clean, affordable electricity.

So what are the new changes? Among them includes:

• ensuring that BC Hydro rate changes do not exceed cumulative inflation
• adding a new objective to ensure that BC Hydro is ready to acquire enough electricity to meet long-term climate targets.
• adding a new objective to ensure that BC Hydro rate changes are predictable and stable from year to year, providing greater certainty for people and businesses looking to invest in B.C.
• amending the existing objective that 93% of the electricity generated in B.C. needs to come from clean or renewable electricity generation (which the province has surpassed) to a target of 100% by 2030 for the integrated grid. This will not affect remote communities or the use of gas-fired electricity generation as emergency back up, or the use of natural gas for other needs, such as home heating.