ORDER NUMBER
E-4-26
IN THE MATTER OF
the Utilities Commission Act, RSBC 1996, Chapter 473
and
British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority
Haida Solar North Project Community Electricity Purchase Agreement
BEFORE:
E. A. Brown, Commissioner
B. A. Magnan, Commissioner
R. E. Murphy, Commissioner
W. E. Royle, Commissioner
on February 19, 2026
ORDER
WHEREAS:
A. On January 23, 2026, British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority (BC Hydro) filed for acceptance a Community Electricity Purchase Agreement (CEPA) dated December 2, 2025, between BC Hydro and Tll Yahda Energy Limited Partnership (TYE) for the Haida Solar North Project (Haida Solar North CEPA) (Filing);
B. BC Hydro and TYE entered into the Haida Solar North CEPA pursuant to BC Hydro’s Community Renewable Energy Offer, a BC Hydro initiative intended to reduce reliance on diesel generation in BC Hydro’s non-integrated areas;
C. Section 18(1) of the Clean Energy Act (CEA) defines a prescribed undertaking as “…a project, program, contract or expenditure that is in a class of projects, programs, contracts or expenditures prescribed for the purpose of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in British Columbia”;
D. Section 18(3) of the CEA states “the commission must not exercise a power under the Utilities Commission Act (UCA) in a way that would directly or indirectly prevent a public utility...from carrying out a prescribed undertaking”;
E. Pursuant to section 3.1 of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction (Clean Energy) Regulation (GGRR), certain electricity purchases for non-integrated areas by a public utility are a prescribed undertaking, subject to certain criteria set out in the GGRR;
F. BC Hydro states in the Filing that the Haida Solar North Project is a 2.0 MW solar farm that has been interconnected near the community of Masset, BC, which is located in a non-integrated area and is defined as a clean or renewable resource under the CEA.
G. BC Hydro states in the Filing that the purchased electricity will be used for BC Hydro’s Masset microgrid, which serves Masset and communities in the north of Haida Gwaii;
H. BC Hydro requests the Haida Solar North CEPA be kept confidential on an ongoing basis as it contains commercially sensitive information to BC Hydro and TYE, unless otherwise determined by the BCUC;
I. BC Hydro submits that the Haida Solar North CEPA meets the requirements for a prescribed undertaking as defined by the GGRR and that acceptance of the Haida Solar North CEPA is warranted; and
J. The BCUC has not reviewed the Filing from a public interest perspective as the Haida Solar North CEPA is a prescribed undertaking under section 18(1) of the CEA.
NOW THEREFORE pursuant to section 71 of the UCA, the BCUC orders as follows:
1. The Haida Solar North CEPA is accepted as filed.
2. The Haida Solar North CEPA will be held confidential unless the BCUC determines otherwise.
DATED at the City of Vancouver, in the Province of British Columbia, this 19th day of February 2026.
BY ORDER
Electronically signed by Bernard Magnan
B. A. Magnan
Commissioner