The British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) has approved BC Hydro’s purchase agreements for power with 10 proponents, including one co-owned by Lheidli T’enneh First Nation, a Monday, Aug. 25 media release announced.
In December 2024, BC Hydro announced it was issuing 10 electricity purchase agreements to nine wind power projects and one solar project, with a combined generating potential of almost 5,000 gigawatt-hours.
That included the Nilhts'i Ecoener Project, a joint venture between Lheidli T’enneh First Nation and Spanish company Ecoener, that will be built near Hixon with capacity for up to 140 megawatts.
All 10 projects involved First Nations co-ownership, ranging from 49 to 51 per cent shares.
Around the same time, the BC Government announced that the projects would be allowed to bypass the environmental assessment process.
Then, in February 2025, BC Hydro filed an application with the BCUC to get permission for the contracts, as is required under the Utilities Commission Act.
The Aug. 25 media release saw the BCUC announce that “after public and transparent review process, the BCUC found that the energy purchase agreements are in the public interest in accordance with the criteria in section 71 of the Utilities Commission Act.”
As part of its review, the BCUC found that BC Hydro had adequately consulted with First Nations about the potential effects of the energy purchase agreements.
Deliveries of energy from the project are expected to start in 2031.
During a Friday, Aug. 22 media conference announcing that Lheidli T’enneh and its business arm Tano T’enneh Enterprises had purchased a combined 8.64 per cent ownership stake in the First Nations Bank of Canada, Chief Dolleen Logan told reporters that preliminary work on the project had started and some initial jobs have been filled.
More work is expected to start next year.
