BC Hydro and the Government of British Columbia have launched a new five-year electrification plan to encourage moving away from fossil fuels.

BC Hydro will invest more than $260 million to implement the plan over the next five  years, including nearly $190 million to promote fuel switching in homes and buildings, vehicles and industry, and more than $50 million to attract new industries to B.C.

“From heat waves to wildfires, we are already seeing the devastating effects of climate change. Here in B.C., we have accomplished a lot with North America’s most progressive plan to reduce carbon pollution – but the scale of the crisis means we must act with even more urgency,” said Premier John Horgan. “Working together with BC Hydro, we will help more people and businesses become less reliant on fossil fuels and use more affordable, made-in-B.C. hydroelectricity.”

BC Hydro estimates that if the electrification plan is fully realized, customer rates will be about 1.6 per cent lower by 2026 compared to what they would be if there were no plan.

The plan could result in incremental greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions of more than 930,000 tonnes per year by 2026. That is equivalent to taking approximately 200,000 passenger vehicles per year off the road.

The plan builds on existing BC Hydro and provincial rebates and customer supports for the installation of heat pumps and electric vehicle chargers and electrification measures from CleanBC, and new recommendations from Phase 2 of the BC Hydro Review, including the discounted CleanBC Industrial Electrification Rates that were announced in January 2021.

With as much as $20 million in incentives and study funding to support the production of hydrogen, the plan also helps to advance the B.C. Hydrogen Strategy released in July 2021.