Bill 31, the 2025 Energy Statutes Amendment Act, allows B.C. to fast-track the North Coast transmission line.

The line is key to making Ksi Lisims “one of the world’s cleanest LNG operations,” according to Prime Minister Mark Carney. It will also provide clean power to multiple mining projects, creating 9,700 full-time jobs and around $950 million in revenue, adding nearly $10 billion annually to B.C.’s GDP, according to Premier David Eby.

The North Coast transmission line is a multiphase project, led by BC Hydro. Phases 1 and 2 will see the building of about 450 kilometres of high voltage transmission lines between Prince George and Terrace (projected cost $6 billion — up from $3 billion in 2023). Phase 3, from Terrace to Bob Quinn Lake near the Alaska border (350 kilometres), has no cost estimate yet.

According to BC Hydro, the new lines could affect as many as 101 private properties, including agricultural land, traplines and woodlots, crossing waterways that are habitat for at-risk white sturgeon, and within 200 metres of archaeological sites.

Bill 14, the Renewable Energy Projects (Streamlined Permitting) Act, passed this spring and exempted the North Coast transmission line from environmental assessments. A project this significant would normally require B.C. Utilities Commission certification,........

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