Integrated Utility Planning Framework Options Development

As B.C.’s Energy system continues to modernize, improved coordination between utilities is crucial. Coordinated planning of electric power and natural gas utility systems is critical to optimize investments, reduce emissions, and keep energy affordable as B.C.’s energy mix changes in the coming years and decades.

During the development of Powering Our Future: B.C.’s Clean Energy Strategy , the Provincial Government, BC Hydro, FortisBC and Pacific Northern Gas (PNG) agreed on the need to advance joint planning to help keep our energy system affordable, reliable and efficient. To that end the Ministry of Energy and Climate Solutions (the Ministry) is assessing options for an Integrated Utility Planning Framework (the Framework) that will outline a process for enhancing the coordination of long-term resource planning between utilities.

An integral part of the development of this Framework will be the collection and assessment of further input from B.C.’s primary energy utilities. The Ministry plans to engage with B.C.’s primary energy utilities in three to five working group meetings with the aim of outlining potential Framework options and the short- and long-term steps required to implement them. The Ministry wishes to procure the services of an Expert Contractor (the Contractor) to facilitate these meetings, provide an expert assessment of the options that are put forward by the working group, and collaborate with the Ministry to develop an implementation roadmap for these options that weighs their relative strengths and weaknesses, and accounts for legislative, regulatory and policy considerations in the B.C. context.

The Contractor should have a comprehensive grasp of B.C. energy utility legislation, regulation and policy with a high level of knowledge about the energy system in B.C., long-term resource planning process, and the different ways in which electric and gas utilities can coordinate their resource planning activities. The Contract is anticipated to commence in January 2025 and end on March 31, 2025 with a total price not to exceed $200,000.

Further details as to the scope of this opportunity and the requirements can be found within this RFP.