North Coast B.C. electrification

The North Coast of B.C. is seeing significant growth in many areas, including ports, mining, hydrogen, technology and liquified natural gas. While industry has expressed an interest in using clean electricity to replace fossil fuels and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the potential electricity demand exceeds the capacity of the existing transmission lines and associated infrastructure.

To meet the growing demand, and to support the objectives of our Electrification Plan and the Government of B.C.'s CleanBC plan to lower climate-changing emissions, we're proposing to expand our transmission infrastructure in the region including building new transmission lines, expanding or upgrading substations, and expanding capacitor stations.

The proposed transmission system expansion also gives us a chance to advance reconciliation by partnering with First Nations on new approaches to infrastructure development, including Indigenous co-ownership of the new transmission lines.

The North Coast of B.C. is supplied by 450 km of 500 kilovolt (kV) transmission lines from Williston Substation near Prince George to Skeena Substation near Terrace. Glenannan and Telkwa substations are also located along the 500 kV lines.

From Terrace, transmission lines head north towards the Aiyansh substation near Gitlaxt'aamiks (formerly New Aiyansh), south to Kitimat and west to Prince Rupert.

To meet growing industrial customer electricity demand, we're proposing to build new 500 kV transmission lines and associated infrastructure from Prince George to Terrace and thermally upgrade the existing 500 kV transmission lines from Prince George to Terrace. We may also need to expand our transmission system beyond Terrace depending on customer demand and location.

Proposed 500 kV transmission infrastructure from Prince George to Terrace

We're proposing to build the new 500 kV transmission lines and associated infrastructure from Prince George to Terrace through two phases.

Prince George to Glenannan Transmission Project (PGGT)

• An approximately 170 km line from Williston to Glenannan substation.

Glenannan to Terrace Transmission Project (GTTT)

• An approximately 130 km line from Glenannan substation to Telkwa substation, and
• An approximately 145 km line from Telkwa substation to Skeena substation.
• Additional infrastructure requirements for both projects are being confirmed but will include fibre optic cable installed on new or existing transmission structures, expansion of capacitor stations and upgrades or expansion of substations.

North Coast Electrification project map

Select the map [PDF, 1.7 MB] to view it at a larger size.
 

For both proposed projects, we're working to identify and assess route options that are within existing BC Hydro rights-of-way or parallel to them, where possible, to mitigate potential effects. We've identified potential routes within the corridors being studied and are working with First Nations to identify a leading route for each project. A variety of information and input is being considered and we'll continue to communicate updates to project information as it becomes available. Additional information on the projects is available on the project specific webpages for which links are provided above.

Thermal upgrades of existing 500 kV transmission lines from Prince George to Terrace

To make the most effective use of the existing 500 kV infrastructure from Prince George to Terrace, we’re proposing to make thermal upgrades along the lines so that they can carry the same amount of electricity as the new lines. This will ensure that we can reliably deliver the electricity needed to the North Coast even if one of the lines is out of service.

Current carried along a line causes it to heat up and sag. At the higher current level, there are existing areas where there won't be enough clearance between the lines and the ground to operate safely. To ensure we can continue to safely deliver electricity, we're working to identify areas where we need to increase the clearance between the lines and the ground.

There are various ways of doing this including "tightening" the existing lines to raise them, removing high spots (e.g., boulders or rock outcrops), moving infrastructure (e.g., roads) to areas with more clearance, lifting the lines by adding new mid-span towers, raising the towers by inserting steel sections, or rebuilding the towers. Once we've identified where more clearance is needed, we'll determine the best way to address each site.

Although we're starting the studies related to this work, most of the proposed upgrading of the lines is not expected to start until after the proposed lines are operational.

Transmission system expansion past Terrace

In early 2023 we initiated an Expression of Interest (EOI) process through which industry was invited to indicate their interest in electrifying their current or proposed operations in the North Coast. Based on the level and location of potential demand identified in the EOI responses, new transmission infrastructure may also be needed north, south, and west of Terrace. To help determine future needs, we studied different demand scenarios (e.g., amount and location of demand) to help us understand what the existing infrastructure can handle and the type of new infrastructure that may be needed.

Studies indicate the following infrastructure may be needed; however, which infrastructure proceeds will depend on which customer projects advance:

• South: a new line to Kitimat built to 500 kV standards but initially operated at 287 kV and a new substation.
• North: a new 500 kV line to Gitlaxt'aamiks (formerly New Aiyansh) and a new substation.
• West: a new 287 kV substation and new line extended from Prince Rupert to the port.

We're still in the early stages of this work and the process for how to advance any infrastructure beyond Terrace needs further discussion with First Nations, governments, and stakeholders.

The Prince George to Terrace Capacitors Project (PGTC) is under construction. Through this project, we're building three new capacitor stations along the existing 500 kV lines from Williston Substation near Prince George to Skeena Substation near Terrace to allow more electricity to pass through these lines. PGTC is anticipated to be in service by 2028 and electricity to be provided by the project is already fully subscribed.

We're also undertaking the Northwest Substations Outage Mitigation project to mitigate potential outages by replacing equipment at Minette, Skeena, Glenannan, and Williston substations and working to interconnect customers to our system.

We continue to engage with our current customers and prospective customers who responded to our Expression of Interest. If you didn't participate in the Expression of Interest but are interested in connecting to the BC Hydro transmission system west of Prince George, please email us for more information. Register to receive email updates about the project and the process for prospective customers.

Engagement on the projects we're planning to support North Coast electrification is ongoing, and we look forward to discussing our progress with you.

Early engagement with our Indigenous partners is also underway, and this aligns with our commitment to co-design the environmental review and explore Indigenous co-ownership of the proposed new transmission lines, as well other means of Indigenous participation.

In May 2023 and March 2024, we held in-person open houses in Prince George, Burns Lake (2023), Houston (2024), Smithers, Terrace, Vanderhoof and Fraser Lake. We also hosted two virtual open houses in each of 2023 and 2024 to discuss the proposed projects.

See reports and documents below to view the information presented at the open houses.

As planning for PGGT and GTTT and other North Coast electrification initiatives progresses, we'll hold more open houses and other events or activities to enable us to discuss our proposed plans with you.

Please feel free to contact us at any time.

Our proposed schedule is for PGGT to be in operation by 2030 and GTTT to be in operation by 2032.

For other potential infrastructure expansion or upgrades, we’ll provide information on the schedules of individual projects if and when they move ahead.