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BC Transmission Corporation

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The British Columbia Transmission Corporation (BCTC) was a Crown corporation in the province of British Columbia, Canada that existed from 2003 to 2010. BCTC's mandate was to plan, build, operate and maintain B.C.'s electrical transmission network.

History and Background

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The British Columbia Transmission Corporation (BCTC) was a provincial Crown corporation headquartered in downtown Vancouver.

Formation

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BCTC was conceived under the BC Liberal Party's 2002 Energy Plan, with a mandate to separate the province's power transmission from its generation and distribution. BCTC was formed through the BC Transmission Corporation Act in 2003 to create an independent power transmission operation, to facilitate a market regulation of the transmission network, to enable private generation, and for wholesale power marketing operations to operate independently from BC Hydro. BCTC's operation and staff were separated from BC Hydro, and the BCTC was established as a new regulated utility under the oversight of the BC Utilities Commission (BCUC).

When BCTC was formed, the North American electricity industry was hoping to attain increased independence of transmission, and the development of regional transmission organizations. BCTC was created to help foster and encourage new sources of power generation across the province of BC, and allow independent use of BC's transmission system.

BCTC's role was to plan, operate, and maintain the transmission system, while BC Hydro remained the owner of the physical transmission infrastructure and rights of way. The Generation and Distribution of the BC electrical system remained under the ownership of BC Hydro. The creation of a separate corporation and the split cost taxpayers an estimated 65 million dollars.

Officers

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Michael Costello was the first BCTC CEO from 2003 to 2005. Jane Peverett was BCTC's president and CEO from 2005 to 2009. Jane Peverett had been at Imperial Oil from 1981 to 1987 before transferring to a natural gas utility in Toronto. The company was eventually bought by West Coast Energy. When West Coast was bought by Duke Energy in 2002, Jane played a key role in the transition. One year later, she accepted the CFO role at the newly created Vancouver company, BCTC. Janet Woodruff was BCTC's interim CEO from 2009 to 2010.

Adoption of an Open Access Transmission Tariff

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In 2004, BCTC adopted an Open Access Transmission Tariff generally following the Pro forma tariff used in the United States following the model established by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Under this tariff, BC Hydro became a transmission customer of BCTC, and other third party generators and entities connecting to the network also became customers under the tariff.

In February 2007, the B.C. government issued a new Energy Plan. This plan included several policies relating to transmission to ensure adequate transmission be in place to support the province's goal of energy self-sufficiency as well as ensuring BC would have mandatory reliability standards for energy generation.

Seven years after the separation from BC Hydro, BCTC was integrated back into BC Hydro on 5 July 2010 under the BC Clean Energy Act.

2010 BC Clean Energy Act and Reincorporation into BC Hydro

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In 2010 the BC Clean Energy Act set out very specific provisions for British Columbia to become a leading supplier of clean, renewable energy. The Act also established a number of measures that is supposed to help meet future electricity needs while generating new jobs and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Under the act, all of BCTC's assets, employees, and responsibilities were reincorporated back into BC Hydro, reversing the 2003 separation.

BC's 2010 Clean Energy Act did not repeal the Open Access Transmission Tariff, and so corporate standards of conduct were adopted within BC Hydro to ensure that the "transmission provider" function would remain, and BC Hydro continues to fulfill the requirements of the OATT post-separation. This means that within BC Hydro there is a customer-service provider function within its own planning departments. The transmission network continues to be publicly owned, with the Government of BC remaining as the sole shareholder of the transmission network.

This decision was made because the integration of BC Hydro and BCTC into one organization was an important component of the government's clean energy initiative. Unifying BC Hydro and BCTC provides a single point of planning and authority for the provincical energy system.

Operations

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BCTC managed all of BC Hydro's transmission network, including over 300 substations and 18,000 km of transmission lines throughout British Columbia, at voltages from 69 kV to 500 kV. BCTC had over 350 employees, most of which were located at its headquarters in the Bentall Centre in Downtown Vancouver. BCTC also owned the network control centres used to operate the BC Transmission system, and had a small number of employees posted in field offices at other locations in BC. Its total assets were valued at over $2.5 billion CAD.

BCTC's transmission system was the BC Hydro transmission system, predominantly built by BC Hydro and its predecessor companies, with the majority of the system being built between 1940 and 1980. BC Hydro retained ownership of and management of their generating facilities in British Columbia, and points of interconnection were established between BC Hydro and BCTC through the Open Access Transmission Tariff.

BCTC manages BC's publicly owned transmission system, which includes transmission towers, high-voltage lines, substations and rights-of-way across the province. The transmission lines, cables and substations move electricity across the province which are monitored and controlled from one main control centre and one backup control centre. While much of this activity is automated through computerized Energy Management Systems, operating staff at the control centres work around the clock to respond to varying external conditions or system disturbances and ensure high levels of safety and reliability. The control centre is a state-of-the-art facility which connects 31 independent power projects and more than 830 MW since 2003.

Projects

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BCTC initiated several major projects and initiatives during its existence:

Vancouver Island Transmission Reinforcement

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The Vancouver Island Transmission Reinforcement project involved the replacement of aging 138kV AC submarine cables across the Strait of Georgia and Trincomali Channel with new 230 kV AC cables, as well as the replacement of the overhead sections of the route between Arnott Substation in Delta and Vancouver Island Terminal near Duncan, and the associated voltage conversions. The project is notable due to the extensive public opposition to BC Hydro using it's existing Rights of Way in Delta and on Saltspring Island. Opposition was so intense that Government of BC instructed BCTC and BC Hydro to offer to purchase the properties of the opposing landowners in Delta. After the project BC Hydro then sold the properties to new owners (once the new lines had been installed).

Control Center Replacement

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BC Hydro's legacy control centres (one system control center on Burnaby Mountain, and four regional control centres at locations around the province) were constructed in the 1960s and were aging, and BCTC's project replaced all five with two new, fully-redundant, seismically reinforced, and modernized control centres. The former system control center building on Burnaby Mountain is now part of the Simon Fraser University campus, and as of 2019 was being used to house the university's supercomputer.[1] The building is architecturally interesting, and has also been used as a set in various films, including the Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn series.

2008 Clean Power Call

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Under the Open Access Tariff, BC Hydro and BCTC jointly ran a competitive call for clean, renewable power. BCTC performed the system studies required for the proposed private generators, and under the call multiple independent power producers were successfully integrated onto the BC network.

Interior-to-Lower Mainland Project

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This project constructed a new, fifth 500 kV transmission circuit from the interior of the province to the load center on the coast, increasing the transfer capability of the system. The project was the first new 500 kV circuit added in British Columbia in two decades, and was notable for crossing over 250 km of extremely challenging terrain through the Coast Mountains of BC.

Northwest Transmission Line Project

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This project constructed a new 287 kV circuit from Terrace north to Bob Quinn, generally following the Stewart-Cassiar Highway, and the line route originally surveyed for a future 500 kV line for the never-realized plan by BC Hydro in the 1970s to dam the Grand Canyon of the Stikine River. The new 287 kV line allowed integration of new mining loads, private run-of-river power generators such as those on the Iskut River at Forest Kerr.

Awards

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BCTC and Hydro-Québec's LineScout partnership earned the highest award in the Energy Industry – the 2010 Edison Award in the International Affiliate Category. The Edison Electric Institute's Edison Award, considered one of the industry's highest honors, recognizes distinguished leadership, innovation and contribution to the advancement of the electric industry. The official announcement of the Edison Award is announced and presented at EEI's Annual Convention in June.

BCTC and Hydro-Québec won the Edison Award for the two utilities' partnership in developing the LineScout Robotics Technology for the inspection of transmission water crossings in British Columbia and demonstrates a step forward in innovative inspection methods, high voltage line robotics and employee safety for the energy industry. LineScout Technology (LST), is a series of robotic devices designed to inspects high-voltage transmission lines. Hydro-Québec Research Institute, IREQ, worked extensively with BCTC to implement LST on BCTC's long-span water crossings. The remote-controlled robot used cameras and other sensors to inspect line conditions and discover irregularities, while also employing a smart navigation system to pinpoint locations in need of attention. The LST is able to maneuver obstacles such as splices, hardware components and aviation warning markers. Unlike conventional transmission line servicing, the robot can service the lines while they are energized.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ BC Hydro helps SFU Supercomputer Keep Its Cool
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