Order in Council 561/2025 directs the British Columbia Utilities Commission to take specific actions respecting the North Coast Transmission Line Project and establishes binding requirements for how related electricity rates and costs are to be treated. Issued under section 3 of the Utilities Commission Act, the direction reflects a clear exercise of executive authority over regulatory decision making for a major transmission investment intended to serve industrial development and electricity demand in northwestern British Columbia.

The direction applies to the Commission and requires it to act within strict timelines once BC Hydro files the necessary application. Within ten days of that filing, the Commission must issue final orders amending BC Hydro’s Electric Tariff by adding three new tariff supplements. These supplements establish industrial rates and contractual arrangements specifically tied to the North Coast Transmission Line Project. The Commission is explicitly prohibited from cancelling, suspending or amending these rates once they are added, limiting regulatory discretion and providing certainty to project proponents and customers.

The Order defines the North Coast Transmission Line Project as a multi phase development consisting of new 500 kilovolt transmission lines and associated facilities extending from the Prince George area through Fraser Lake and Terrace to the Bob Quinn Lake area. The project is divided into three phases corresponding to these geographic segments. Ownership of portions of the project may be shared through limited partnerships established under designated agreements approved by the Lieutenant Governor in Council. These structures reflect a policy intention to support co ownership and co development including participation by First Nations.

A central feature of the direction is its treatment of cost recovery. The Commission is instructed not to disallow for any reason the recovery through rates of a broad range of project related costs. These include BC Hydros costs for all three project phases payments made to North Coast limited partnerships under designated agreements and costs associated with upgrading existing transmission lines and related facilities where those upgrades are required because of the project or to increase system capacity. The direction also ensures recovery of certain electricity generation or transmission costs that would otherwise fall on specific customers under one of the new tariff supplements.

The Order further prescribes how these costs must be apportioned among electricity customers who receive or may receive service under specified rate schedules. The Commission must set rates so that recovery occurs either through a uniform percentage increase applied across all relevant schedules or through schedule specific increases that generate substantially the same revenue outcome. This approach ensures that the financial burden of the project is broadly shared while allowing limited flexibility in rate design.

British Columbia (OC 561/2025) December 16, 2025
Disclaimer: Insights are for informational purposes only and does not reflect RRI’s official position or constitute legal opinion.