The BC government's CleanBC plan and Roadmap to 2030 aims to increase the use of clean and renewable energy and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 80 percent by 2050.
The BCUC has a critical role in ensuring the interests of utility customers are protected as utilities seek to achieve the government’s objectives.
The BCUC regulates energy utilities in BC. We ensure customers have access to safe, reliable energy service at a fair price. To learn more about what we do, visit Our Role.
The Utilities Commission Act outlines our mandate. We also follow sections of the Clean Energy Act, Administrative Tribunals Act, and Insurance Corporation Act, among others.
The BCUC is an independent regulator that is policy and technology neutral. Our focus is on the benefits and costs to ratepayers.
The BCUC conducts independent, fair, open, and transparent review processes. Our role is to ensure just and reasonable rates for safe and reliable service for utility customers, while considering whether the utility has met its greenhouse gas reduction targets and other legislated requirements.
When we receive applications from energy utilities that include clean energy initiatives, we consider the impact to ratepayers and ensure that the initiative is a cost-effective solution to meet clean energy objectives and reliability and safety standards. Our focus is on the impact to you, the utility customer, and the interests of British Columbians.
Overall, our role is to make sure rates are just, reasonable, and not unduly discriminatory and that projects are in the public interest.
The BC government establishes policies and objectives related to reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the province, like the CleanBC plan, and provides direction to the BCUC through laws, regulations, and Orders in Council to implement BC government policies.
If the BC government has defined reducing greenhouse gas emissions in law, we ensure that utilities' actions adhere to these laws. Our review of utility applications also considers government energy objectives that have not been made law, such as those in the CleanBC plan.
We play a vital role in ensuring the initiatives that the utilities submit, that aim to meet the BC government's greenhouse gas reduction targets, are cost effective and transparent, and that the concerns of those who are impacted are heard and properly balanced.
Each year, the BC government requires regulated entities to submit a report describing any project, program, contract, or expenditure they have undertaken that reduces greenhouse gas emissions in BC.
The BCUC reviews applications from utilities to determine whether certain activities meet the requirements of a prescribed undertaking, which would enable the utility to fully recover the costs through rates. The BCUC must not exercise powers under the Utilities Commission Act in a way that would directly or indirectly prevent a public utility carrying out a prescribed undertaking. This is in accordance with the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Regulation (GGRR) and under section 18 of the Clean Energy Act.
The BCUC is responsible for regulating BC's energy utilities. We ensure customers have access to safe, reliable energy service at a fair price.
Learn more