NDP’s latest BC Hydro power call - more panic than plan as electricity demand grows at a rapid pace
Salmon Arm, BC – This week’s announcement from the NDP government of a new BC Hydro call for proposals on baseload energy projects - including geothermal, pumped storage and hydroelectric power - is too little, too late, according to David Williams, MLA for Salmon Arm-Shuswap and Conservative Critic for BC Hydro and Electricity Self-Sufficiency.
Williams questioned whether the measures announced so far will be enough to meet demand for electricity in British Columbia, which is forecast to rise by 15 per cent by 2030.
“This is not a plan—it’s a panic. British Columbians deserve a reliable, affordable, and achievable energy strategy, said Williams. “Rural regions deserve more than vague invitations and improvisation.”
Williams said the structure of the new power call is geared to large multinational power companies, such as those that were successful in the recently announced NDP scheme to build wind farms.
“Rural communities have the real potential for local hydro and geothermal development—but once again, those proposals are left to fight uphill battles while big players get the inside track,” Williams said. “Where’s the streamlined access for rural communities and First Nations who want to generate power right here at home?”
Williams is also skeptical about a second call for proposals announced this week where BC Hydro will assess new technologies to conserve energy in homes and buildings, with the aim of saving 2,000 gigawatt-hours of electricity.
He pointed out that energy experts, including former environment minister Barry Penner of the Energy Futures Institute, warn that this is unlikely to close the growing gap between demand and supply, especially as Site C and other projects won’t fully come online until 2028 or later.
“The vast, overwhelming share of our energy in British Columbia is generated in rural and remote locations,” said Williams. “Rural B.C. holds most of the natural potential—hydrologic, geothermal, and biomass—to produce the future baseline power B.C. needs. Rural communities in the Shuswap, the Columbia Basin, northern Vancouver Island, and northern B.C. could also benefit economically while keeping the lights on in the lower mainland.”
Williams said the NDP’s failure to plan amounts to planning to fail – by failing to address the needs of communities in the power call in a variety of ways:
1. Capital and resource gaps leave many rural proponents at a disadvantage
2. Grid infrastructure remains limited in remote regions
3. Regulatory complexity favours large developers
4. Community power projects lack streamlined support
“With continued growth in our population and our economy, demand in the lower mainland and southern Vancouver Island will outstrip both our generating capacity and our transmission system,” said Williams, “unless we scale up more quickly.”
Williams called on the NDP government to:
1. Guarantee equal access for rural, Indigenous, and community-scale projects
2. Offer technical and financial support to proponents, including in smaller communities and on reserve
3. Invest in transmission upgrades connecting rural power to urban loads
4. Ensure project funding is distributed equitably across all regions of BC
Williams concluded by calling for targeted investment in community-scale baseload projects, fair access for rural developers, and a serious conversation about how B.C. defines energy security in the face of rising demand.
The new BC Hydro power call process remains open until September 2025, with decisions expected later this year.
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