Non-Integrated Area Community Renewable Energy Offer (NIA CREO)

BC Hydro is offering a collaborative approach to support renewable energy project development in non-integrated areas (NIAs) of British Columbia through community electricity purchase agreements (CEPAs). This initiative aims to reduce diesel dependence in remote communities by purchasing electricity from selected community-developed renewable energy projects.

Project Requirements: Projects must use a clean or renewable resource as defined by the Clean Energy Act, be capable of direct interconnection to the community microgrid, and be appropriately sized to meet community energy planning and load forecasting needs. BC Hydro will work with each community to support project development, design, and connection while ensuring compliance with reliability and safety standards.

Energy Pricing: For solar projects, BC Hydro offers a nominal price of $378 per megawatt-hour (MWh) as of 2024, escalated at 50% of British Columbia's consumer price index (CPI). Pricing for other renewable energy projects will be determined through bilateral negotiation using the same pricing principles. This approach is designed to minimize project risks for proponents and set prices that reflect project risk levels while maximizing long-term financial feasibility.

Cost Sharing and Risk Management: Community developers are responsible for interconnection study costs. BC Hydro will pay for reasonable interconnection-related costs on a case-by-case basis, with community developers posting security for such costs. Security requirements decrease by 20% on each of the first through fifth anniversaries of commercial operation, after which no security is required. To address curtailment risks, CEPAs will be structured to pay for available energy based on project size, outage management, and weather conditions rather than actual energy deliveries, ensuring consistent and predictable revenue streams for project operators. All community electricity purchase agreements will be filed for acceptance with the B.C. Utilities Commission pursuant to section 71 of the Utilities Commission Act.