Former Chilliwack MLA says BC Hydro is turning to natural gas to fill its power gap

VANCOUVER – Former Chilliwack MLA and cabinet minister turned energy analyst Barry Penner says a recent submission to the BC Utilities Commission by BC Hydro reveals that the province’s CleanBC policies conflict with rising electricity demand, reliability requirements and economic growth.

In a filing submitted to the BCUC on May 28th, BC Hydro revealed it is seeking new contracts for the 275 megawatt Island Generation natural gas power plant and the 120 megawatt McMahon natural gas cogeneration facility. Penner says BC Hydro is also looking for new gas-fired ‘peaking’ plants for dispatchable generating capacity that intermittent renewable sources cannot guarantee during peak demand. 

“As we’ve been saying since 2023, shutting down BC’s remaining natural gas-fired power plants is risky and does not make sense,” said Penner, KC, chair of the Energy Futures Institute. BC Hydro has explicitly validated what many British Columbians have suspected.”

Renewables and Batteries Can’t Cover the Winter Peak

Penner suggests batteries and intermittent renewable energy alone cannot satisfy the longer-duration capacity needed during extended winter cold spells, according to the BC Hydro filing. Although natural gas-fired generation conflicts with CleanBC’s objective of sourcing all electricity generated in BC from non-emitting sources, the utility says reliability and electricity self-sufficiency should take precedence. The filing includes economic analysis indicating mining activity enabled by electricity could increase GDP by about $4 billion annually, supporting thousands of additional jobs.

“Scarce electricity should be used strategically,” said Penner. “BC Hydro already has more than 7,000 megawatts of job-creating projects waiting in its interconnection queue, such as mines, LNG facilities, ports, and housing projects. Should our limited electricity supplies support jobs and economic growth or be used to replace plentiful natural gas for home heating, as CleanBC calls for?”

CleanBC is driving demand up, not down

In its October 2025 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), BC Hydro notes that the Zero Carbon Building Code and requiring electric space and water heating appliances, which are part of the CleanBC plan, could add 1,000 gigawatt-hours of annual electricity demand by 2035 and 10,300 gigawatt-hours by 2050 — roughly equal to two Site C dams. At page 24 of Appendix A of the IRP, provincial electric vehicle sales mandates are seen increasing demand by as much as 5,582 gigawatt-hours by 2040, or more than the annual output of another Site C dam.

“Government policy has been simultaneously increasing electricity demand while restricting some of the very options needed to supply it,” said Penner. 

Dual-fuel Heating Systems Could Ease the Strain

BC Hydro has noted that dual-fuel heating systems, which combine electric heat pumps with natural gas backup, could reduce winter peak electricity demand in the Lower Mainland by 75 per cent compared with fully-electric systems. However, such systems are discouraged by CleanBC policies.

“The BC Government could look to the City of Vancouver for rational policy that would take some of the extra pressure off the grid,” says Penner. “But that would require revisiting CleanBC.”

Vancouver City Council voted on May 21, 2026 to reverse requirements for only electric heating in new residential and commercial buildings, along with regulations requiring natural gas hot water tanks at end-of-life to only be replaced with electric units. 

“The latest BC Hydro filing states they are now evaluating options such as more large hydroelectric dams, pumped storage, geothermal energy and natural gas peaking plants, along with more intermittent renewables,” says Penner. “When the lights must stay on, political posturing usually gives way to engineering. That’s because without power, jobs and tax revenues move elsewhere.”