Evaluating the Regulation of Independent Power Producers in a Hydro-Based Electricity System

Overview

We examine how British Columbia's 2002 shift to Independent Power Producers locked in high fixed prices and stalled after 2017, while BC Hydro's demand forecasts fail to account for the province's EV targets that Site C alone can't meet. Comparing BC's experience to Québec and Norway, we identify reforms, including better pre-planning support and municipal and Indigenous ownership models, that could help BC scale up renewable energy.