British Columbians are proud of our clean electricity story\u2014and for good reason. With an abundance of hydro dams, nearly 95 per cent of the power generated inside B.C. comes with almost no greenhouse-gas emissions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But there\u2019s a wrinkle most people never see.<\/strong> Here\u2019s the irony:<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Meanwhile, provincial policy bans new natural-gas power plants inside<\/strong> B.C. The result? We\u2019ve outsourced both the emissions and the jobs that go with producing reliable electricity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When temperatures plunged on B.C.\u2019s coldest day of 2024, natural gas delivered twice as much energy<\/strong> to British Columbians as the entire electrical grid. Replacing that surge with batteries is a fantasy: it would take the equivalent of four years of global EV-battery production<\/em> just to cover one week of winter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Watch the video to see exactly how the import loop works\u2014and why it\u2019s time to rethink what \u201cgreen\u201d really means for B.C.\u2019s grid.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
In both 2023 and 2024, about one-fifth<\/em> of the electricity lighting our homes and charging our EVs didn\u2019t come from our own dams. We bought it from the United States and Alberta\u2014regions that rely heavily on natural-gas and even coal-fired generators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Cold-Snap Reality Check<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n