BC Hydro has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Ksi Lisims LNG to provide up to 600 megawatts of electricity to the proposed export facility on the north coast through the planned $6‑billion North Coast Transmission Line.
The agreement was signed Tuesday in Prince George, where the B.C. Natural Resources Forum is being held this week.
Energy Minister Adrian Dix said the agreement is an important step toward securing a final investment decision for the project.
Ksi Lisims – pronounced “s’lisims” – is being advanced through a partnership of the Nisga’a Nation, Rockies LNG and Texas-based Western LNG.
“This MOU is a great example of how working closely with British Columbia and BC Hydro, we are collectively creating the conditions necessary to enable large-scale investment,” said Nisga’a Nation President Eva Clayton.
“The Indigenous people, not only of the northwest but of Canada, have eyes on all of us as we move forward,” she said.
Once operational, the facility would be able to export about 12 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas a year to overseas markets in Asia.
BC Hydro CEO Charlotte Mitha noted the North Coast Transmission Line is expected to more than double the region’s electrical capacity.
Some critics have raised concerns about whether B.C. has the energy needed to power a large number of planned major projects, from LNG to mining.
Last fall, an independent review of the province’s CleanBC plan found the LNG industry alone would need about 40,000 gigawatt‑hours of electricity a year, roughly the output of 7.5 Site C dams.
BC Hydro has said it expects electricity demand to grow by about 15 per cent by 2030. The utility issued calls for power in 2024 and 2025 and plans to issue further calls for power every two years.
Ksi Lisims is also reliant on construction of the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission pipeline, which the provincial government declared substantially started in June. The pipeline faces opposition from First Nations and others along its roughly 900‑kilometre route.
Both Ksi Lisims and the North Coast Transmission Line are on the federal government’s list of major projects of national importance and could be fast‑tracked.
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