BC Hydro’s North Coast Transmission Line is a proposed new 500 kV transmission from Prince George to Terrace and Bob Quinn Lake.

The line is planned to be built in three phases:

• Phase 1 from Prince George to Fraser Lake (the Glennanan substation);
• Phase 2 from Fraser Lake to Terrace (the Telkwa substation); and
• Phase 3 from Terrace to Bon Quinn Lake (the Bob Quinn substation).

The new line is planned to follow a similar route to the existing 450 km, 500 kV line to Terrace. The proposed schedule is for Phase 1 to be in service by fall 2030, and Phase 2 by mid-2032. There is no date for Phase 3.

The cost of Phases 1 and 2 is expected to be $6 billion. The 2023 “placeholder” cost, issued two years earlier, was $3 billion. There has been no cost estimate provided for Phase 3.

The government intends that BC Hydro will co-own the different segments of the new line with local First Nations. The ownership may be in the form of limited partnerships.

Regulation

The government exempted Phases 1 and 2 of the North Coast Transmission Line from the Environmental Assessment Act when it passed Bill 14, the Renewable Energy Projects (Streamlined Permitting) Act, in 2025.

The government also exempted construction of the first two phases of the North Coast Transmission Line from BC Utilities Commission (BCUC) oversight by Ministerial Order on December 8, 2025. As a result, BC Hydro does not need a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) to build and operate Phases 1 and 2 of the line.

The same Ministerial Order also exempted the limited partnerships between BC Hydro and First Nations for Phases 1 and 2 from the entirety of Part 3 of the Utilities Commission Act. This exempts them not only from the need for a CPCN, but also from rate regulation. The BCUC will not oversee the rates charged by the limited partnerships to BC Hydro for use of their segment of the new line.