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The British Columbia government introduced a bill Monday that it says will speed up the building of a new electricity transmission line in the northwest of the province.
The North Coast Transmission Line will provide power for new mines, port expansions and reducing carbon emissions from liquefied natural gas facilities, Premier David Eby said. “The promise is incredible.”
The project is planned in three phases. The first would be a 164-kilometre line from Prince George to Fraser Lake, the second a 275-kilometre line from Fraser Lake to Terrace, and the third a 350-kilometre line from Terrace north to Bob Quinn Lake.
The government estimates the first two phases will cost $6 billion. It has no estimate for the third phase. Construction is planned to start in 2026 and be completed by 2034.
Eby said the new line will enable projects that will add $9.85 billion a year to the province’s gross domestic product and 9,700 direct jobs while providing the government with $1 billion in revenue annually.
It’s much needed at a time when the Canadian economy is under threat from the United States, he said. “British Columbians know we can’t just sit back and wait for somebody else to solve the problem. We have to build.”
Energy and Climate Solutions Minister Adrian Dix said in the legislature that Bill 31, the Energy Statutes Amendment Act, 2025, will enable BC Hydro to enter co-ownership arrangements with First Nations and allow the utility to implement a framework for allocating electricity.
“We’re expanding our access to B.C.’s clean electricity grid in the northwest, in particular with the North Coast Transmission Line,” he said, “not just to power homes and businesses, which it will, and improve service in the region, but to unlock the full potential of the northwest as a driver of economic growth and diversification.”
The government is also making regulatory changes that would make power available for data centres, artificial intelligence and the production of hydrogen for export, while permanently banning new BC Hydro connections for cryptocurrency mining.
People speaking in favour of the government’s direction included Sharleen Gale, executive board chair of the First Nations Major Projects Coalition; Wes Sam, Chief of Ts'il Kaz Koh and chair of K'uul Power; and Michael Goehring, president and CEO of the Mining Association of British Columbia.
The changes would take away the requirement for the BC Utilities Commission to review the line. Normally the BCUC assesses whether new projects are in the public interest and whether they are built in a way that’s fair to existing ratepayers.
Eby said the BCUC has a vital role but that its review is unnecessary for a big province-building initiative like the North Coast Transmission Line. It seemed obvious to the government that the project is in the public interest and they are prepared to be held accountable for that, he said.
The northwest has been underserved with electricity for a long time, he added, and building the line will give it a chance to prosper.
Failing to build the line would mean walking away from thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in economic growth, Dix said. “Without these changes today critical mining and LNG projects in the north simply won’t move forward.”
Getting it built is a necessary step so that project proponents can make investment decisions, he said.
“We’re going now in order to be ready for when they need us to be ready,” he said. “We’re acting now in advance of when the projects themselves will be ready in order to deliver the electricity that needs to be delivered.” ![[Tyee]](/design-article.thetyee.ca/ui/img/yellowblob.png){kind=small}
Read more: Energy, BC Politics
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