The next 20 years will require BC Hydro to establish a rigorous energy conservation plan and an expansion of its facilities to meet a growing electricity demand, according to the Crown corporation's draft Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) released August 23.
Highlights of the plan include:
- a conservation goal to save 7,800 gigawatt hours per year by 2021. This target will, according the IRP, be supported by "relying on all three customer classes [residential, commercial and industrial] to undertake demand side management activities." BC Hydro will spend $445 million on conservation measures between 2014 and 2016. Without any conservation initiatives, BC Hydro forecasts electricity use in the province to reach 80,000 gigawatt hours per year. Currently, it is 57,000 gigawatt hours per year;
- Building Site C;
- reviewing contracts with various independent power producers (IPPs) not yet in operation. Currently, BC Hydro has 128 electricity purchase agreements with IPPs. Of those agreements, only 81 are in operation;
- the need to support the LNG industry. Initial demand from the LNG industry, reads the report, will be 3,000 gigawatt hours per year. By enforcing its conservation plan, BC Hydro believes it will have the enough supply to meet that demand. The IRP, however, is depending on LNG facilities using natural gas and not electricity to run the cooling process that converts natural gas to liquefied natural gas. To date, none of the proponents of the proposed LNG plants have confirmed they will use this method;
- "contingency" plans include adding up to 500 megawatts of peak capacity to Revelstoke Generating Station Unit 6 and 220 megawatts of peak capacity to the GM Shrum Generating Station.
The IRP was submitted to Bill Bennett, Minister of Energy and Mines, for review on Aug. 2. The report is available to the public for comment.
According to a government press release, a series of consultation sessions will be scheduled between September 2 and October 18 to allow the public comment on the plan.
BC Hydro will re-submit the IRP to the government by November 15.
