Planning for the Future
BCTC is planning for the future by ensuring British Columbia’s electricity system has the necessary capacity to meet the needs of our growing province. A reliable transmission system is the backbone of the BC economy and timely investment in this critical infrastructure is essential to maintaining access to the reliable, efficient and clean energy on which we all depend.
Guidance for BCTC’s planning is provided by the provincial Energy Plan: A Vision for Clean Energy Leadership. In this document, the Government lays out its vision for BC’s energy future. BCTC’s number one planning priority is to ensure that there is adequate transmission in place meet demand and enable the development of clean and renewable energy.
At BCTC a comprehensive capital planning process is in place to identify the transmission investments required to meet the needs of customers and ensure a robust, reliable transmission network is in place. This process follows four planning steps.
In addition to standard planning processes, BCTC initiated work under its Transmission Expansion Policy to identify opportunities to expand the transmission system in advance of committed need. Outcomes of this process will be included in capital plans.
Key Planning Outcomes
BCTC’s planning processes include the following key outcomes:
Ten Year Capital Plan: Central to BCTC’s planning process is development of a ten year Capital Plan. BCTC’s current F2009 Ten Year Capital Plan details capital investment for the next year and provides an outlook of potential investments for the next ten years. The current plan outlines $5.1 billion in expenditures dollars of investment required over the next ten years to:
- Expand and enhance BC’s electricity infrastructure to meet growing energy needs in the province
- Enable the integration of clean or renewable electricity sources to meet demand; and
- Invest in innovation and new digital technologies to extend the life and enhance the capacity of the current aging system
The plan is submitted to the BCUC for approval of expenditures required over the next two years.
Long-Term Transmission Vision: In 2008 BCTC began work on developing a new 30-year vision for the transmission system that explores a range of possible scenarios for the development of the transmission system beyond 10 years.