BC Transmission Corporation

BC Transmission Corporation, commonly known as BCTC, was a provincial Crown corporation created in British Columbia in 2003 and reintegrated into BC Hydro in 2010. Its establishment followed the British Columbia government's 2002 Energy Plan, which sought to separate electricity transmission from generation and distribution. The policy was intended to create a more independent transmission function, support competition and private power development, provide open and nondiscriminatory network access, and separate transmission planning from BC Hydro's generation and wholesale-marketing activities. BCTC did not own the province's transmission infrastructure in the conventional asset-ownership sense. BC Hydro retained ownership of the physical network and its rights of way, while BCTC was given management authority over transmission planning, investment planning, system operation, maintenance planning, and network access. BC Hydro remained responsible for generation and distribution and became a transmission customer of BCTC alongside independent power producers and other users. The arrangement was overseen by the British Columbia Utilities Commission and was designed around an Open Access Transmission Tariff modeled on the broader North American movement toward independent transmission administration and regional electricity-market coordination. During its operating life, BCTC managed a large province-wide system consisting of more than 300 substations and approximately 18,000 kilometres of transmission lines ranging from 69 kilovolts to 500 kilovolts. It operated network control centres and employed more than 350 people, primarily from its Vancouver headquarters, with additional field and regional personnel. Its responsibilities included long-term system planning, real-time grid control, maintenance and investment coordination, interconnection studies, and the integration of new generating resources and industrial loads. The corporation participated in several significant transmission and power-system initiatives. These included reinforcement of the Vancouver Island transmission connection through new higher-voltage submarine cables and related overhead-line work; replacement of aging control centres with two redundant and seismically strengthened facilities; construction of an additional 500-kilovolt Interior-to-Lower Mainland circuit; development of the Northwest Transmission Line; and technical studies supporting BC Hydro's 2008 Clean Power Call. The latter helped assess and connect independent producers of renewable electricity, including run-of-river projects, subject to the requirements of the transmission system. BCTC also adopted reliability requirements in response to post-2003 North American blackout reforms. In 2009, following changes to British Columbia's Utilities Commission Act, the corporation filed its initial adoption of mandatory reliability standards. Its work with Hydro-Québec on LineScout robotic inspection technology received the Edison Electric Institute's Edison Award in 2010 for demonstrating a robotic approach to inspecting difficult high-voltage line crossings. The separation from BC Hydro was reversed by the British Columbia Clean Energy Act in 2010. On 5 July 2010, BCTC's assets, employees, and responsibilities were reincorporated into BC Hydro. The reintegration restored a single provincial organization for transmission planning and system authority, although the Open Access Transmission Tariff was retained and internal standards of conduct were used to preserve functional separation between transmission-provider activities, transmission customers, and market functions. BCTC therefore remains a notable example of a short-lived public-sector transmission-separation model rather than an active electricity brand.

BCTC emerged from British Columbia's 2002 Energy Plan and the province's policy decision to separate transmission from BC Hydro's generation and distribution businesses. The British Columbia Transmission Corporation Act established the corporation in 2003 as a regulated Crown utility. Its institutional purpose was to make transmission planning and network access more independent, encourage private generation, and permit wholesale electricity activities to operate separately from the entity managing the transmission system. The separation was organizational and managerial rather than a transfer of physical ownership. BC Hydro continued to own the lines, substations, and rights of way, while BCTC assumed authority for system planning, investment management, maintenance planning, network operation, interconnection analysis, and access administration. BC Hydro became one of BCTC's transmission customers, together with independent generators and other parties using the network. The British Columbia Utilities Commission provided regulatory oversight. In 2004, BCTC implemented an Open Access Transmission Tariff based on the North American pro forma model associated with the United States Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The tariff established the framework through which eligible users could obtain transmission service and supported the policy goal of nondiscriminatory access. BCTC subsequently operated a system extending across British Columbia, with more than 300 substations and about 18,000 kilometres of lines operating at voltages from 69 kV through 500 kV. The corporation also operated control facilities and coordinated engineering, field-operation, and maintenance resources supplied in part through service arrangements with BC Hydro. BCTC's project portfolio reflected the province's expanding interest in new generation, industrial development, reliability, and clean electricity. The Vancouver Island Transmission Reinforcement project replaced aging submarine and overhead infrastructure and converted sections of the connection to higher voltage. The project generated opposition from landowners concerned about existing rights of way, particularly in Delta and on Salt Spring Island. BCTC also replaced five aging control centres with two redundant and seismically strengthened facilities. Other major initiatives included the Interior-to-Lower Mainland Project, which added a fifth 500-kV circuit across difficult Coast Mountain terrain, and the Northwest Transmission Line, a 287-kV connection from the Terrace area toward Bob Quinn that enabled additional mining loads and new private generation to connect. The 2007 provincial Energy Plan emphasized transmission capacity to support energy self-sufficiency and new clean generation. BCTC supported BC Hydro's 2008 Clean Power Call by conducting system studies for proposed independent power producers. These studies helped determine whether renewable projects could be connected safely and reliably to the provincial network. In the regulatory field, legislative changes in 2009 led the British Columbia Utilities Commission to establish a mandatory reliability program. BCTC filed its initial adoption of mandatory reliability standards as part of the wider North American response to the 2003 Northeast blackout. The corporation's final phase began with the 2010 Clean Energy Act. The legislation specified a renewed provincial approach to clean and renewable power and provided for BCTC's assets, personnel, and responsibilities to return to BC Hydro. The reintegration took effect on 5 July 2010, ending BCTC as a separate corporation after approximately seven years. Public discussion focused in part on the estimated cost of creating and then reintegrating the corporation, reported in the reference material as approximately C$65 million. After reintegration, BC Hydro retained the transmission function while continuing to use the Open Access Transmission Tariff and internal standards of conduct intended to preserve independence between transmission-provider functions, transmission customers, and market activities. BCTC's legacy therefore survives primarily through the transmission systems, procedures, and regulatory arrangements incorporated into BC Hydro.

• 2010

  Corporate reintegration into BC Hydro

  [1]BC Transmission Corporationen.wikipedia.org

  BCTC ceased to exist as a separate corporation on 5 July 2010 when its assets, employees, and responsibilities returned to BC Hydro.

• 2009

  Initial mandatory reliability filing

  [1]BC Transmission Corporationen.wikipedia.org

  BCTC filed its initial adoption of mandatory reliability standards following changes to provincial utility regulation.

• 2008

  Clean Power Call support

  [1]BC Transmission Corporationen.wikipedia.org

  BCTC conducted system studies for independent power producers participating in BC Hydro's clean-power procurement process.

• 2007

  New provincial Energy Plan emphasizes transmission capacity

  [1]BC Transmission Corporationen.wikipedia.org

  The updated plan called for adequate transmission infrastructure to support energy self-sufficiency and new generation.

• 2004

  Open Access Transmission Tariff adopted

  [1]BC Transmission Corporationen.wikipedia.org

  BCTC introduced an open-access tariff under which BC Hydro and other eligible users received transmission service.

• 2003

  BCTC is established

  [1]BC Transmission Corporationen.wikipedia.org

  The British Columbia Transmission Corporation Act created BCTC as a regulated provincial Crown corporation.

• 2002

  Transmission separation proposed in the Energy Plan

  [1]BC Transmission Corporationen.wikipedia.org

  The British Columbia government's Energy Plan proposed separating electricity transmission from BC Hydro's generation and distribution activities.

A regulated, publicly owned transmission-system operator designed to provide independent and open access to British Columbia's electricity grid.

• Electric utility service · 2003

  Electricity transmission network operations

  BCTC operated and coordinated British Columbia's high-voltage transmission system, including more than 300 substations and approximately 18,000 kilometres of lines. Its operating remit covered real-time grid control, system reliability, outage coordination, and the movement of electricity between generating resources and load centres.

• Regulated network access · 2004

  Open Access Transmission Tariff

  Introduced in 2004, the tariff provided the commercial and regulatory framework for transmission service. BC Hydro, independent generators, and other eligible entities could use the network as transmission customers, subject to applicable access, scheduling, and reliability requirements.

• Grid planning service · 2003

  Transmission planning and interconnection studies

  BCTC assessed the effects of proposed generation, industrial loads, and major transmission projects on the provincial system. Its studies supported the connection of independent power producers and informed investment decisions for projects such as the Clean Power Call, the Northwest Transmission Line, and the Interior-to-Lower Mainland reinforcement.

• 2008Clean Power Call

  British Columbia, Canada

  BCTC supported BC Hydro's competitive procurement process for clean and renewable electricity by performing transmission-system studies for proposed independent power projects.

  Outcome. Multiple independent power producers were assessed and connected to the provincial transmission system.

  Source

• 2010

  Reintegrate BCTC into BC HydroM&A

  Background

  The Clean Energy Act established a renewed provincial clean-energy framework and reversed the earlier corporate separation of transmission from BC Hydro.

  Action taken

  On 5 July 2010, BCTC's assets, employees, and responsibilities were reincorporated into BC Hydro.

  Aftermath

  BCTC ceased to operate as a separate legal entity, while BC Hydro resumed unified responsibility for the provincial transmission function. The reported estimated taxpayer cost of creating and reintegrating the corporation generated political scrutiny.

  Estimated creation and reintegration cost. Approximately C$65 million (2003-2010)

  Source

• 2004

  Adopt an Open Access Transmission TariffStrategy

  Background

  BCTC was created to provide a more independent transmission function and to enable third-party use of a network still owned by BC Hydro.

  Action taken

  The corporation adopted an open-access tariff modeled on the North American pro forma approach, making BC Hydro and other eligible users transmission customers.

  Aftermath

  The tariff remained in effect after BCTC was absorbed into BC Hydro, with internal conduct rules intended to preserve functional independence.

  Source

1. 1BC Transmission Corporationen.wikipedia.org
2. 2BC Hydro Transmissionbchydro.com