Private company

BC Transmission Corporation

Crown corporation that transmits electricity in British Columbia, Canada¹

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.² Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

Industryelectric power industry¹

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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 2010.²

The story

History and Background

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

Formation

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 from Independent Power Producers (IPPs), 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.

Officers

Michael Costello was the first BCTC CEO from 2003 to 2005.

Jane Peverett was BCTC's president and CEO from 2005 to 2009.

Janet Woodruff was BCTC's interim CEO from 2009 to 2010.

2007 Energy Plan and 2008 Clean Power Call

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. BCTC then supported BC Hydro in 2008 in the issuing of a Clean Power Call for attracting additional IPP generation resources.

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2010 BC Clean Energy Act and Reincorporation into BC Hydro

In 2010 the BC Clean Energy Act set out specific provisions for British Columbia to become a leading supplier of clean, renewable energy, and to 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 separation. Seven years after the separation from BC Hydro, BCTC was integrated back into BC Hydro on 5 July 2010. The total cost to the BC taxpayers for the creation and subsequent reintegration of BCTC was estimated to be $65 million CAD, attracting significant political scrutiny. Unifying the companies returned BC Hydro to providing a single point of planning and authority for the provincial energy system.

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" functions internal to the company would remain independent of the "transmission customer" and "market function" employees, and BC Hydro continues to fulfill the requirements of the OATT post-separation. The transmission network continues to be publicly owned, with the Government of BC remaining as the sole shareholder of the transmission network.

2008 Clean Power Call

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.

From Wikipedia’s article on BC Transmission Corporation, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.³

Products and brands

electric power transmission

Listed on Wikidata.¹

BCTC managed and operated 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.

BC Hydro retained ownership of and management of their generating facilities in British Columbia. Points of interconnection were established between BC Hydro and BCTC, and BC Hydro became a network transmission customer through the Open Access Transmission Tariff.

While the power system assets were still owned by BC Hydro, the corporate function was that of silent owner. BCTC was set up with the management authority for the system, including control of all investment management and maintenance planning, while BC Hydro divisions continued to supply engineering services, field operations resources, and other functions through service agreements.